Reader reviews

Exactly the book I needed. Straight to the point and genuinely useful.

This is the third book I have read on computational biology this year, and it is comfortably the best of them. Some of the material is available elsewhere, but rarely presented this clearly. A few of the examples could be more realistic, but the underlying points come across clearly. There is a section near the end that ties several earlier ideas together in a way I had not seen before. One of those books that pays for itself within the first few chapters. Highly recommended.

The clearest explanation of game programming I have come across.

I bought this on a whim after seeing it mentioned in a forum thread, and I am glad I did. The author avoids over-explaining, which keeps the pace up but means you need to pay attention. The book rewards careful reading. Skimming it would be a mistake. This is the book I wish had existed when I started working with game programming.

Not quite what I expected from the description, but there is material here.

There is a particular kind of technical book that is dense without being difficult, and this is one of them. The explanations are careful without being condescending, which is a difficult balance to strike. The writing is direct and does not waste space on filler, which I value in a technical book. Some of the diagrams are dense and I had to reread a few sections, though that may just be me. Fine, but there are stronger books on the same subject if you look around.

I have read a lot of books on this subject and this is the clearest.

There is a particular kind of technical book that is dense without being difficult, and this is one of them. The examples are small enough to type out and experiment with, which is exactly what I want from a book like this. A few of the examples could be more realistic, but the underlying points come across clearly. I found myself making notes in the margins, which is always a good sign. This is the book I wish had existed when I started working with workbooks.

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

I had been on the fence about this one for a while, and I should have bought it sooner. A few of the examples could be more realistic, but the underlying points come across clearly. The early chapters move quickly through material I already knew, but the later sections were genuinely new to me. A good addition to a technical library, as long as you know what you are buying.

I have read a lot of books on this subject and this is the clearest.

I picked this up after getting stuck on a project and it turned out to be exactly the right book at the right time. There is a section near the end that ties several earlier ideas together in a way I had not seen before. I particularly liked the way the author builds up from simple cases before introducing the harder material. I appreciated the honesty about what the book does not cover — it saved me from expecting things that were not there. If you have the prerequisites, this is an easy recommendation. I will be keeping it on my desk rather than the shelf.