Game C++ Programming A Practical Introduction

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 progression from chapter to chapter is well thought out; nothing feels out of order. The code samples assume a particular environment, which took a bit of fiddling to get running properly. Some terminology is introduced without much ceremony; I had to look a few things up along the way. I have already recommended it to two colleagues and will recommend it to more.

Hard to recommend. The examples assume too much and explain too little.

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 explanations are careful without being condescending, which is a difficult balance to strike. The index and cross-references are surprisingly good, which matters for a book I will come back to. The chapters on game programming are the strongest — the examples are stripped down but complete, and I could follow along without constant guessing. Not one I will be returning to. There are better introductions to game programming available.