Reader reviews

Excellent from start to finish. No filler, no padding.

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. A few of the examples could be more realistic, but the underlying points come across clearly. The progression from chapter to chapter is well thought out; nothing feels out of order. Worth the money and the reading time, without hesitation.

Three stars feels about right. Useful, but not essential.

I have been working with physics simulation for a few years now and I still found plenty here that was new to me. The exercises at the end of each chapter are worth doing — they caught a few misconceptions I did not know I had. I particularly liked the way the author builds up from simple cases before introducing the harder material. The examples are small enough to type out and experiment with, which is exactly what I want from a book like this. Fine, but there are stronger books on the same subject if you look around.

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

A colleague recommended this and I can see why. It does something that few technical books manage: it respects the reader's time. The balance between theory and practice is well judged; neither side dominates. The code samples assume a particular environment, which took a bit of fiddling to get running properly. There is a section near the end that ties several earlier ideas together in a way I had not seen before. I have already recommended it to two colleagues and will recommend it to more.

Good value. Not perfect, but I would buy another book from this author.

I was looking for something that would bridge the gap between tutorials and proper reference material, and this does that well. Some terminology is introduced without much ceremony; I had to look a few things up along the way. The author is unusually honest about where the simplifications break down, which I appreciated. Worth picking up if you already have the basics. Set realistic expectations and you will get a lot out of it.

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

I was looking for something that would bridge the gap between tutorials and proper reference material, and this does that well. 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 chapters on simulation are the strongest — the examples are stripped down but complete, and I could follow along without constant guessing. Borrow it first if you can, or at least check the table of contents carefully before buying.

Well worth picking up if you already have the basics.

This is the third book I have read on javascript this year, and it is comfortably the best of them. The exercises at the end of each chapter are worth doing — they caught a few misconceptions I did not know I had. The author is unusually honest about where the simplifications break down, which I appreciated. Solid, and I would buy another book from this author without hesitation.