Reader reviews

Worth every page. I have already recommended it to two colleagues.

A colleague recommended this and I can see why. It does something that few technical books manage: it respects the reader's time. The examples are small enough to type out and experiment with, which is exactly what I want from a book like this. The index and cross-references are surprisingly good, which matters for a book I will come back to. Some of the material is available elsewhere, but rarely presented this clearly. One of those books that pays for itself within the first few chapters. Highly recommended.

A useful guide. The examples assume a particular environment, but that is fixable.

This is the third book I have read on graphics & design this year, and it is comfortably the best of them. The early chapters move quickly through material I already knew, but the later sections were genuinely new to me. The writing is direct and does not waste space on filler, which I value in a technical book. It is denser than the page count suggests, and I found myself slowing down around the middle. Solid, and I would buy another book from this author without hesitation.

Finally, a book that treats data visualization with the care it deserves.

I had been on the fence about this one for a while, and I should have bought it sooner. The writing is direct and does not waste space on filler, which I value in a technical book. I particularly liked the way the author builds up from simple cases before introducing the harder material. The early chapters move quickly through material I already knew, but the later sections were genuinely new to me. If you have the prerequisites, this is an easy recommendation. I will be keeping it on my desk rather than the shelf.

Strong content, uneven pacing. I would still recommend 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. It is denser than the page count suggests, and I found myself slowing down around the middle. Some terminology is introduced without much ceremony; I had to look a few things up along the way. Recommended, with the caveat that it is not a gentle introduction.

Well worth picking up if you already have the basics.

I picked this up after getting stuck on a project and it turned out to be exactly the right book at the right time. I appreciated the honesty about what the book does not cover — it saved me from expecting things that were not there. The balance between theory and practice is well judged; neither side dominates. Solid, and I would buy another book from this author without hesitation.

I got a lot out of this, even if a few sections felt rushed.

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 writing is direct and does not waste space on filler, which I value in a technical book. I found myself making notes in the margins, which is always a good sign. Good value for the price and worth the time it takes to work through properly.