A better next read. A clearer next step.

Good book. The writing is direct and the author is honest about limits.

I bought this on a whim after seeing it mentioned in a forum thread, and I am glad I did. The index and cross-references are surprisingly good, which matters for a book I will come back to. The examples are small enough to type out and experiment with, which is exactly what I want from a book like this. I particularly liked the way the author builds up from simple cases before introducing the harder material. Four stars, and I suspect a second edition could easily push it to five.

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

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 exercises at the end of each chapter are worth doing — they caught a few misconceptions I did not know I had. It is denser than the page count suggests, and I found myself slowing down around the middle. A good addition to a technical library, as long as you know what you are buying.

Strong content, uneven pacing. I would still recommend it.

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 examples are small enough to type out and experiment with, which is exactly what I want from a book like this. A couple of chapters felt like they could have been merged, but that is a minor complaint. The author avoids over-explaining, which keeps the pace up but means you need to pay attention. Worth picking up if you already have the basics. Set realistic expectations and you will get a lot out of it.