Little Black Book of Ray-Tracing and Path-Tracing (Paperback)

It does the job, though it took some patience to get through.

I had been on the fence about this one for a while, and I should have bought it sooner. The index and cross-references are surprisingly good, which matters for a book I will come back to. A couple of chapters felt like they could have been merged, but that is a minor complaint. The explanations are careful without being condescending, which is a difficult balance to strike. Borrow it first if you can, or at least check the table of contents carefully before buying.

A genuinely enjoyable read that also taught me a great deal.

I had been on the fence about this one for a while, and I should have bought it sooner. The code samples assume a particular environment, which took a bit of fiddling to get running properly. The index and cross-references are surprisingly good, which matters for a book I will come back to. The progression from chapter to chapter is well thought out; nothing feels out of order. 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.

I had been on the fence about this one for a while, and I should have bought it sooner. There is a section near the end that ties several earlier ideas together in a way I had not seen before. Some of the diagrams are dense and I had to reread a few sections, though that may just be me. Four stars, and I suspect a second edition could easily push it to five.