Reader reviews

Outstanding. I kept finding reasons to come back to it.

I picked this up after getting stuck on a project and it turned out to be exactly the right book at the right time. The author is unusually honest about where the simplifications break down, which I appreciated. The balance between theory and practice is well judged; neither side dominates. If you have the prerequisites, this is an easy recommendation. I will be keeping it on my desk rather than the shelf.

Well worth picking up if you already have the basics.

I came to this book already familiar with the basics, and it still had plenty to offer. The progression from chapter to chapter is well thought out; nothing feels out of order. The author clearly knows the subject deeply and has thought hard about how to teach it. The examples are small enough to type out and experiment with, which is exactly what I want from a book like this. Four stars, and I suspect a second edition could easily push it to five.

Genuinely excellent — I finished it in a week and immediately started again.

I had been on the fence about this one for a while, and I should have bought it sooner. Some of the material is available elsewhere, but rarely presented this clearly. The balance between theory and practice is well judged; neither side dominates. One of those books that pays for itself within the first few chapters. Highly recommended.

Almost excellent. A second edition could easily push it to five stars.

I came to this book already familiar with the basics, and it still had plenty to offer. I appreciated the honesty about what the book does not cover — it saved me from expecting things that were not there. I found myself making notes in the margins, which is always a good sign. Recommended, with the caveat that it is not a gentle introduction.

A superb guide. The examples are small but complete.

I read this over a couple of weekends alongside a small side project, which turned out to be the ideal way to approach it. The explanations are careful without being condescending, which is a difficult balance to strike. The author avoids over-explaining, which keeps the pace up but means you need to pay attention. I have already recommended it to two colleagues and will recommend it to more.

Better than I expected. Rare to find a technical book this well judged.

This is the third book I have read on windows desktop this year, and it is comfortably the best of them. I particularly liked the way the author builds up from simple cases before introducing the harder material. Some of the diagrams are dense and I had to reread a few sections, though that may just be me. If you have the prerequisites, this is an easy recommendation. I will be keeping it on my desk rather than the shelf.