I found this in a used bookstore while I was on the road throughout California installing solar drinking water distillers that a bitter, old curmugeon and I built. He was apparently wrecked emotionally by the fact that no one was interested in solar thermal technology in the eighties. I was fascinated by the fact that, as we worked and philosophized, we caught the play-by-play of the Gulf War on television. An American Solar Energy Society editorial lamented that US foreign aid to Israel was building "California Ranch Style" homes on the West Bank complete with solar water heaters while California refused to even subsidize research let alone tax incentives for such energy conservation measures which is what wrecked the American solar thermal industry.

Long before glass, construction was perfected that offered comfortable housing based upon proper site orientation and architectural principles apparently long since forgotten.

Photos of early Los Angeles with Day & Night brand solar + natural gas water heaters on roof after roof.

This is a book for honest to goodness leaders to ponder and then roll up their sleeves and start changing the world.

Practical Photovoltaics is one of the finest, most comprehensive guides to the world of solar energy. The book starts with a beginer's course in solid state physical devices (which taught even an Electrical Engineer such as myself new things) and leads into the history of solar cell materials and procedures over the years. Next comes an in-depth discussion of the various types of materials, and how they are suited for different applications. He makes logical predictions about the future of some of these materials, and hints around at what new techniques scientists are starting to look at today.
In the appendix, he even describes how to assemble your own array of solar cells for those who wish to try a hands-on approach to learning.
Oh, yeah, one more thing: he has a decent list of recomended readings at the end of each chapter, allowing you to select topics that interest you to continue your reading.

Perlin's book is an ambitious overview of the use of wood in world civilization. Therein lies the both the book's strengths and weaknesses. Like any work that attempts to do a global history, inevitably some regions and some eras get very short shrift. Still, A Forest Journey is interesting, and well worth reading by anyone with an interest in environmental or forest history.

This book is a study on the rise and fall of civilizations, as caused by their management of wood resources, or in other words energy resources. Perlin tells a convincing tale on what makes a civilization tick. This is a very good book to read for anybody who cares about what the world is coming to, and perhaps even for those who don't. It is filled with fascinating historical material.

The limitations of the book are that Perlin is not as great a storyteller as DC Peattie (many of the stories here would make a sweeping tale in the hands of a truly gifted writer) and that the choice of civilizations treated is very much oriented towards the US.

A Forest Journey first reminds us of the absolute importance of wood to human history: how much we have depended on wood for our very existence:

"Throughout the ages trees have provided the material to make fire, the heat of which has allowed our species to reshape the earth for its use. With heat from wood fires, relatively cold climates became habitable; inedible grains were changed into a major source of food; clay could be converted into pottery, serving as useful containers to store goods; people could extract metal from stone, revolutionizing the implements used in agriculture, crafts, and warfare; the builders could make durable construction materials such as brick, cement, lime, plaster, and tile for housing and storage facilities....

"Transportation would have been unthinkable without wood. Until the nineteenth century every ship, from Bronze Age coaster to the frigate, was built with timber. Every cart, chariot, and wagon was also made primarily of wood. Early steamboats and railroad locomotives in the United States used wood as their fuel...

"Wood was also used for the beams that propped up mine shafts and formed supports for every type of building. Water wheels and windmills ­ the major means of mechanical power before electricity was harnessed ­ were built of wood. The peasant could not farm without wooden tool handles or wood plows; the soldier could not throw his spear or shoot his arrows without their wooden shafts, or hold his gun without its wooden stock. What would the archer have done lacking wood for his bow; the brewer and vintner, without wood for their barrels and casks; or the woolen industry, without wood for its looms?"

Perlin then thoroughly documents how all past nations declined once their forests were depleted. Today, with the world's forests in jeopardy, A Forest Journey provides much needed information that can help us avoid another needless repetition of history.

I found this book in a rack in a local book shop where they had kept books about Photoshop and Illustrator. I asked the book seller, he said it's about making nice images so it is there. Any way absolutely must book for serious graphics researcher. I got introduced to genetic textures, I was unaware of them.

The book does not cover reaction diffusion textures.

Yippeee!!!
Finally, a book that explains Fractal noise, Bump mapping, textures and Terrain modelling in a simple way that doesn't boggle your mind

I've always wondered how to make my own Smoke effects, how 3D Fractal Terrain is created, how to make Clouds and a whole lot more...
This Book is really cool! It does feel a little *academic*, but its a fascinating read and even a dummy like myself can follow the text! (Hey, I hate Maths!)

Excellent!

The reason I am writing this is because of all the previous negative reviews that I have read.

I really find it irrational to complain for the content of the book claiming it is poor, just because it does not cover everything about the subject. This is a broad field and many topics might be very advanced and very specific to be covered, however it does provide a lot of references for anyone interested in something that specific. I strongly believe that this book is a lot more than an itroductory, with straighforward explanations to several advanced topics and many well documented examples. I also like the "wordy" approach that some of the authors do for advanced topics. This makes the text a lot more comprehensible and might also be helpful for mathematically inclined people.

Another thing that has to be mentioned is that previous posts are all refering to the second edition of this book and many information are not valid anymore (e.g. there is a thorough desctiption of Worley's cellular texturing in the third edition).

Concerning all this moaning for the high price of the book, I think it's totally unfair, as besides anything else it is of exceptional print quality (great paper, full color, etc). I personally consider this book one of the most valuable that I have ever had, so even if it was a lot more [pricey], I would still buy it.