I think the book presents a nice overview to computer graphics. Some of the other books are so overwhelming with the breadth and depth of topics that it is hard to distill the important ideas. This book does a nice job of including all the basic algorithms and formulas necessary to build standard graphic programs.

I have found some errors in the formulas on ray tracing which lead to some headaches. Unfortunately, no errata page has been put up on the web as of this point (October 02). There may be others, but this is where I have spent most of my time.

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn about writing a renderer. If you're wanting to learn about using OpenGL or just want quick information about creating graphics applications this is not the book for you (in that case I'd recommend the latest edition of the OpenGL Programming Guide).

For those truley interested in graphics this is probably the best book available. Shirley explains things in an intuitive way and supplements his explanation with examples and pseudo-code. This book is a perfect guide to writing a z-buffer renderer and is helpful for generating a ray tracer or path tracer. Supplementary reading might prove useful for writinig a ray or path tracer. Shirley's second edition of Realistic Ray Tracing (which should be out soon - the first had many mistakes) ought to be very good. He is a wonderful writer.

This is a really good intro to the fundamentals of 3D graphics. The best thing about this book is that it is API-neutral, and so covers the material wihtout making specific references to API's. The material is explained very clearly and is easy to read. I would have liked some more guidance on actual implementation in code (e.g. using C to make it accessible to most readers, or using pseudo-code). Perhaps some canned demo programs would have been nice, to supplement the narrative.

I also bought Hill's book on 3D graphics with OpenGL(2nd Edition), and find the two books work quite well together.

I recommend Shirley's book as a first introduction to graphics theory >before< you start playing with an API!

This text is absolutely the most horrendous book I have ever used in a college class. It is written at about a 4th or 5th grade reading level, and within the text will highlight common, everyday words like "familiar", "prioritize" and "accurate" and then in a sidebar will actually define the words for you! I have never been more embarrassed to own a book (which is required for a health care class I must take). In another unbelievable chapter the reader is even told how to add numbers like 2 and 3! I kid you not. (check page 131 for verification) I cannot believe this book is marketed for a college audience, and will most certainly sell this book back at the end of the semester, as it is TOTALLY useless. The writers of this text definitely display a lack of knowledge in the fields of medicine and physiology. Don't waste your money on it.

Students will find this book easy to use and understand. The material allows students to start their learning experience at an easy level and move gradually to higher levels. Vocational students will achieve success in reaching their entry-level health career goal with this book. Students easily follow the workbook guidelines and teachers appreciate the easy to follow instructors materials.

This textbook and accompaning materials is written for a specific audience. It is a text that helps English as a second language, returning adults who may not have completed high school and for those needing simple and careful information. In some cases a student in the class may excel and the material seems redundant, etc. The text meets a very important need and the course instructor purchases texts to meet the need of her students. The previous reviewer was very disappointed in the book because of the level it is written for. She is probably a more advanced student.

On one level I enjoyed this picture book-- the story is engaging, the illustrations are rich, vibrant, and seem to jump off the page, and it's apparent that the author did some research before writing this book. However, on another level, I was offended by the subtle racist undertones of one Westerner's portrayal of an "ethnic" Cinderella story. The feel of the story is "exotic"-- indeed, the story begins: "Long ago in Korea, when magical creatures were as common as cabbages..."

(The exotic East as seen through the eyes of the West-- and so the story continues.)
The illustrations, while they try to be faithful to the feel of traditional Korea, also exude a subtle racist undertone-- the illustrator clearly does not know how to draw Asian faces. The facial features are distorted and the eyes are too slanted. The illustrator drew from her perception of what Asian faces should look like-- yellow skin, slanted eyes-- and exaggerated these features.

I'd rather read a Korean Cinderella story written and illustrated by a Korean writer and illustrator.

As a sidenote-- Shirley Climo and Ruth Heller have also written/illustrated an Egyptian Cinderella. I have many of the same complaints with this story as well. Once again, there are racist undertones in both the story and the illustrations.

As a second sidenote-- if you're looking for an "ethnic" Cinderella story, _Yen-Shen: A Cinderella Story from China_ is excellent. It is a retelling of the first recorded Cinderella story (written some time during 618-907 AD). Thus, as the forward states: "Cinderella seems to have made her way to Europe from Asia."

This is one of the longest text versions of the Cinderella story I have ever come across. It is a wonderful telling of the tale, and works nicely to illustrate how this tale is part of many cultures the world over. I can't speak to the accuracy of the details of Korean culture, but the artwork is fascinating. Due to length of the story, however, I tend to wonder how well it would hold younger children's attention. It works well, though, for illustrating cultural difference to college students.

A delightful retelling of a story that is found in many cultures. This book is beautifully illustrated with examples of traditional Korean architecture and clothing.

The Book had a good Plot. The way the characters where represented where horrible. You should have gotten to know them better, the author should have spent more time on the description of the characters personalities, and details of the story then just concentrating on the plot.

Horton Foote is everything that today's culture is not -- thoughtful, sensitive, insightful. His works are rich, but can be accessed only by taking the time to listen and reflect, skills not well practiced these days (as evidenced by the dimwitted reviewer of the previous entry). If you cannot see his plays, please read them slowly and carefully (Both 'The Young Man from Atlanta' and 'The Last of the Thortons' are excellent choices) and the rewards will be tremendous.

Dramatic writers are like orchestral conductors; advancing age serves to enhance the talents of the truly gifted in their ranks. Octogenerian Horton Foote, who imprinted the visual memory of the 1960's generation with his screen adaptation of Harper Lee's novel "To Kill a Mockingbird", won the 1995 Pulitzer Prize for "The Young Man from Atlanta". In this one-act drama, Foote embeds within a structure of six simple scenes a gentle and unsettling tale of 1950's Houston. Will Kidder is the 65 year-old man from Houston whose fortunes grew up with the city -- his prosperity always rendered in large cash sums. "Because I want the best. The biggest and the best. I always have." -- Will alerts co-worker Tom early in the first scene, unaware that he addresses his replacement at the firm he's helped build for almost four decades. Will's simple hope is that constructing the city's biggest house for his highly strung but deeply religious wife Lily Dale will help her overcome the peculiar death of their only child. Non-swimmer son Bill's short stroll into a Florida lake has bequeathed a void to the couple's life along with a young companion from Atlanta -- the never-seen title character -- whose calls Will avoids even as he forbids the grieving mother further contact with the visitor. With the opening of the second scene, Lily Dale, unaware of her husband's firing, occupies her place in their large new house, but the hoarding of her grief and the baggage of her relationship with the unseen Atlantan occupy her thoughts. She confides to her step-father Pete that she has funneled to the stranger most of seventy-five thousand dollars accumulated from Will's past Christmas gifts in gratitude for his comforting testimony about her son's religious devotion at the Atlanta boarding house where they were roommates. Also, Lily Dale -- whose very name conjures proper Southern Baptist assemblages, floral hats, and lily-covered caskets -- admits that she has responded with m! onetary pity to her son's friend's stories of life without loving family. She prays Will himself can come to accept the young man from Atlanta as an important part of her son's life. Then Will admits to her the loss of his job. Discovery that Pete's own nest egg cannot replace the money given to the stranger as outright gift (for now Will needs funding to start a new business) -- along with knowledge that the one hundred thousand dollars Will gave their son over the years is no longer accounted for -- undermines the household's tranquillity. "You've been taken for a fool, woman." Will cries on the way to his heart attack. It is the couple's groping toward "truth telling" to one another that gives impetus to the drama, even as they deal with the more mundane matters of recovering financial stability and failing health. Horton Foote's mid-century characters in "The Young Man from Atlanta" embody a "memory" of American Southern propriety that dared not openly allude to situations outside of prevailing social norms. The preservation of privacy and its refusal to examine reality from different perspectives enabled construction of a societal fortress that defied plundering, even if substantial financial and emotional resources were at stake. As long as the resources remained intact -- or seemingly so -- the Will Kidders could continue functioning as they desired, while deluding themselves into the bargain. "Will Kidder" was a perfect name for the old man from Houston.

The problems are worth doing, but the level of difficulty is not that of an SAT. In SAT critical reading questions, you will often be asked to make judgements based on a gut feeling of what the author was trying to portray. Also, the SAT readings can contain a few lines that are quite incomprehensible, and you are forced to answer questions even though you are in a state of partial confusion. There are neither of these pitfalls to be seen in this book. Also the readings in this book are shorter. For these reasons, this book has to be supplemented with others for a really good preparation for SAT critical reading.

I used this book to study for the SAT Verbal. I scored well over 200 points after finishing this book ( from 510 to 760 ) ! As in almost every standardized test, long term planning is the key. This book is very very comprehensive and should be used for the patient and the long term planner. The other SAT verbal books mainly deal with memorizing Vocabulary. However, app. half of the SAT verbal questions and points are Reading Comprehension. Quite often, these SAT books give you a few RC samples and advise an overly generalized method. This book is specifically committed in tackling these specific questions with lots of examples and an emphasis on self-learning. With consistent effort and patience, you will score BIG! The only thing that turned me off about this book is that it can be repetitive and boring. You get pummeled by sooo many actual RC questions that you just get sick of it! But it's worth the effort. Along the way, you will master RC questions and smile!

This book provides an economic analysis of traffic in urban America. Using data from major cities, the researchers try to uncover the problems with our current urban transportation networks and offer economically sound solutions. Among the problems noted are congestion from suburban traffic and poorly used heavy rail systems. Among the solutions proposed are new rail networks and a time-sensitive toll on all urban highways. The only point that disappointed me was the analysis the purpose of travel and how it was interlaced with the ideas for solutions, but otherwise this was a good text. The reader should be warned that this is a specialized economic report, not written on the popular level. Undergraduate and graduate seminars could find this book very useful for discussion or as a basis for further study.

I think this is a good book if you are looking for models to improve urban transportation in United States. When I bought it I expected to get something wide: something that could be useful outside USA, but the book is more specific, but still a good book. It is very economic and econometric.

There is a fair amount of information if you mostly want to grow certain nut trees (pecan, walnuts, hazelnuts) and citrus. I would have liked to see a lot more information on less common nut varieties (e.g., chestnuts, pine nuts, etc.) And there was little to no information on apple, pear, plum, etc. There are better books that cover fruit in general, and there are citrus specialty books if that's your main interest.

This is a good book for those wanting very basic information on planting, propagating, caring for, & harvesting the fruit of the trees. More detailed information is given on citrus & exotic fruits as well as on a few nut varieties.

Several gadgets that can be used to make caring for the tree easier are also listed along with places to get them. There is also a small but delicious recipe section as well as planting & apple-tasting record templates.

There is great chart that explains how to organically fix or prevent many diseases & pests that can injure your trees. Another chart lists zones, chill hours, height, pollinator & susceptibilities for about 16 trees.

A bibliography & many associations where you can find information on growing specific trees are also included. Information on where to buy trees is as well as a list of tree museums is a nice bonus.

This is a great read for a novice tree grower!

Overall, I think the book says things everybody (especially marketer) already knew.

For instance, the final recommended nine strategies:
- restructure organizations with a consumer-driven orientation.
- select and focus on the highest-priority consumer segments.
- develop standardized customizaton approaches.
- leverage global trends and market intelligence.
- increase the priority on innovation.
- increase the priority on value.
- choose more narrowly targeted and two-way communication vehicles.
- align communications strategies with the spirit of tomorrow's consumers
- adopt new marketing research approaches to understand tomorrow's consumer.

All these "recommended strategies" are very "unsurprised" to me. Both the recommendation basis and recommendation strategies are just average.

I gave two stars because the book was released in 1998, so it might have a little value then (though I doubt it too).

Only recommend to college student for marketing basic reading.

The concepts and indicators Shirley Roberts mentioned in this book are nothing new to me since I have been working the last two decades at an investment bank that already follows these trends quite closely.
Most of the first two chapters seemed to be elementry knowledge, however starting with chapter 3 the text begins to look a little bit more into the detail of the "Hows and Whys" of her beliefs. Numerous examples of failure and success stories of companies that have recognised trend changes help the reader fully understand the concepts she is talking about.
The author comes from a food and beverage background which is very evident in her examples but she does use other business sector cases as well.
In the book she really pushes the theme of globalisation of the world's markets and their effects on consumer behavior. However, there are only a few very limited number of non-North American case studies.
The occupation of a "Marketing Professional" will become much more difficult as consumer market becomes extremely non-homogeneous, destroying the "Mass Marketing" philosophy.. hurray hurray... this means more marketing jobs... ha ha ha ..
Although I have been in an occupation tracking these trends and statistics over the last 20 years, I was able to learn a few new and interesting things but I would say this book is an excellent read for the college graduate/entry level employee for a marketing/market analyst type occupation.

This book is good for anyone interested in long term trends. The author does a good job of identifying the specific factors influencing trends and then mentions what magazines you can read that will talk more specific about the area you are intersted in learning about further.

I purchased the tape and found it to be most disappointing. I would not recommend this book (nor the tape) to anyone. Sorry, but that is how I feel. Scott.

All to often problem solving becomes a team exercise where each member "shares their ignorance (of the essence of the problem)" while searching for a solution. Having a systematic approach to define, research, select alternatives, implement, control, and encourage feedback is a better way to reach a successful solution. This little book provides a fun guide suitable for the novice in problem solving techniques. I found the book to be entertaining yet helpful, especially for my strategic planning clients.

Great way of making pooh's likfe look like ours. It shows us how simple life can be, and how much and how little things matter. Great book, easy to understand.