California Books

This book covers everything you need to know to write a ray tracer with
advanced features like photon mapping, volume scattering, path tracing,
etc. The scope of the material it covers is stunning. It starts from the
basics of topics like 3D geometry and ray/object intersections and then
builds up to explain reflection models, advanced texturing techniques, and
then light transport algorithms.

It has excellent discussions of the theory and underlying math of physical
rendering blended (rather well) with very very useful practical
implementations of the theory. The leap from theory to implementation is
often difficult to do, and to do well or efficiently even more difficult.
(The ray acceleration code alone is worth it's weight in gold.) This is an
indispensable book for anyone who wants to write their own ray tracer or
learn more about the latest techniques used in photorealistic rendering.

This book mixes detailed algorithm descriptions with actual code in a book that never loses sight of the "big picture" of physically based ray tracing and image synthesis. Although it is very well written and is not a dry academic book at all, it would help if the reader is already familiar with basic computer graphic techniques, linear algebra, calculus, and optics in order to get the most out of this book. It was never meant to be a replacement for Foley & Van Dam's classic book on computer graphics, even though the first few chapters go over basic computer graphic material. The book includes a website where the source code of the authors' renderer can be downloaded. This code is very well organized and commented so that if you wish to lift individual pieces from the entire software package you can with just a little bit of work. I highly recommend this book to the programmer who wishes to implement physically based rendering in his/her own code or wants to know about the practical implementation of image synthesis techniques. Amazon does not show any details about the book here, so I shall explain the contents in the context of the table of contents:
CHAPTER 01. INTRODUCTION
This chapter talks briefly about all kinds of topics related to ray tracing. It also talks about how to understand the code in the book and the book website.
CHAPTER 02. GEOMETRY AND TRANSFORMATIONS
This chapter is pretty basic computer graphics stuff. It talks about coordinate systems, vectors, arithmetic, scaling, dot and cross products,etc. Applying transformations via matrices is also discussed as well as the representation of points, vectors, normals, rays, and bounding boxes.
CHAPTER 03. SHAPES
More basic computer graphics continues with discussions on spheres, differential geometry, cylinders, and disks, paraboloids, triangles and meshes, and the representation and bounding of all of these shapes.
CHAPTER 04. PRIMITIVES AND INTERSECTION ACCELERATION
This chapter is about accelerating the speed of your graphics through grid acceleration, tree construction and representation, and object instantiation.
CHAPTER 05. COLOR AND RADIOMETRY
XYZ color system is discussed along with radiometric integrals including integrals over projected solid angles, integrals over spherical coordinates, and integrals over area. Beginning in this chapter the math becomes more advanced.
CHAPTER 06. CAMERA MODELS
Projective camera models are discussed along with orthographic, perspective, and environment camera models. This information will already be familiar to students of computer vision.
CHAPTER 07. SAMPLING AND RECONSTRUCTION
Frequency domain techniques are discussed starting with the Fourier transform and ideal sampling and reconstruction. Also, antialiasing techniques are explained.
CHAPTER 08. FILM AND THE IMAGING PIPELINE
This chapter talks about topics such as luminance, photometry, bloom, and imaging pipeline stages.
CHAPTER 09. REFLECTION MODELS
The various reflection models are discussed including specular, Fresnel, Lambertian, Oren-Nayer disfuse reflection, and the Lafortune model.
CHAPTER 10. MATERIALS
Matte, plastic, bump mapping, and other material effects are explained very well.
CHAPTER 11. TEXTURE
We return to frequency models some in this chapter. The texture sampling rate, filtering functions, and mapping in spherical, cylindrical, and planar form are explained. Procedural textures are also discussed including the famous Perlin noise, marble, and windy waves.
CHAPTER 12. VOLUME SCATTERING
This chapter is considered more advanced material, and discusses volume scattering processes, absorption, emission, in and out scattering, phase functions, exponential density, and volume aggregates.
CHAPTER 13. LIGHT SOURCES
All kinds of light sources are described including point lights, spotlights, texture projection lights, distant lights, area lights, and infinite area lights.
CHAPTERS 14 and 15 both discuss Monte Carlo integration techniques including improving efficiency.
CHAPTERS 16 and 17 are about light transport. The first chapter is about surface reflection and the second is about volume rendering.
CHAPTER 18. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION includes a design retrospective, a discussion of abstraction versus reality, and design alternatives including triangles only and streaming computation.
APPENDIXES- These include sections on utilities, scene description interface, input file formats, an index of code fragments, an index of classes and their members, and finally an index of identifiers.

I do ray tracing and GI for a living. When I got started on my ray tracer I was struggling with several basic issues. Even though I tried to locate all the published material on those subject there was still significant gaps. Issues like 'how to shot photons', what about all these 'cosines'. How do you actually implement a kd-tree. I read Shirley's, Jansen's, Glassner's and Advanced Global Illumination and a lot of the older Siggraph papers. PBRT came out just in time to rescue me. It contains the only complete implementation of a photonmap.

It's strong point is a complete running GI engine. However the literate programming style used in the book meant a lot of time I cannot read a subject by itself. The use of abstract interfaces sort of force you to use the class browser to follow the logic. You pretty much have to read it from the beginning. The quality of the code contained goes beyond the usual standard of code published as examples. It contains a rather sophiscated random number generator. Its treatment of LDS plus sampling and recontruction in general is excellent. It is the only source that shows how to implement Li's algorithm to generate random rays to sample a sphere. Same goes for Malley's. Shirley and Chui's concentric sampling method is hidden in the appendix of a old Siggraph paper.

The book also has code to sample and model most of the common light sources. Which is surprisingly non-trivial.

I highly recommend this book but it does require a certain level of commitment to get the most out of this book. The chapters on sampling, ray differential, texture filtering, light transport I consider must reads for all graphics programmer even though you might not be working on ray tracing.

I cannot praise this book more than the others already have. The book is about producing high-quality images using raytracing. It basically walks you through the creation of a fully-functional raytracer, discussing all the different algorithms and techniques that are needed along the way.

It's written in the context of their particular implementation of a working raytracer, using the fweb programming/documentation system, where basically the program source and the documentation are written as one document. I've always thought this was academic nonsense as far as writing real code in a production environment, but it turns out to be an EXCELLENT way to write a book or code intended for a learning environment.

This strikes the perfect balance between explaining the theory thoroughly and showing how the ideas can be implemented in a real, functional raytracer. They avoid the trap of many other book that focus on a particular implemention, by not getting too bogged down into pecularities of their system.

The source code itself also stands out as a strong point. There are so many books out there with poorly written and unorganized code that you'd never want to read, much less try to work in. The code is well organized, and the coding style easy to read. It's one of the few books I own that contain source code where I actually read the source code and it added something to my experience. I wish everybody who wrote about programming was actually a decent programmer and not just a mathemiticion.

This book has academic rigor and but also well-written explanations. I'm still learning a lot from it. I expect to refer to it frequently over the next years as we (in the video game industry) take more concepts from raytracers and apply them to real-time graphics, as the processors get more and more powerful.

You probably should not be an absolute newbie when it comes to basic 3D math and things like vectors and basic graphics concepts before buying this book. The authors use some calculus, too, if that scares you off.

Although it is not possible here, I am fairly sure this book deserves such rating. This is truly remarkable work and is likely to become a classic text in the field of computer graphics.

It is not a survey-type book, instead of trying to describe every possible method out there, the authors have concentrated on a few selected techniques, that are not only good (modern, fast, easy to implement, etc.), but also have some pedagogical merits and can serve as a gentle introduction to the world of ray tracing and digital image synthesis. Despite focusing on selected areas, the authors managed to squeeze here in an amazing amount of material. Among other topics, this book covers: subdivision surfaces, ray-primitive intersection acceleration techniques (3D DDA and kd-tree), color and radiometry, anti-aliasing, tone mapping, physically based reflection models, texture mapping (including texture anti-aliasing using ray differentials), area lights and HDR Image Based Lighting, volume scattering and much more.

A large part of the book has been devoted to the light transport and Monte Carlo techniques. One can find there an introduction to the theory of Monte Carlo estimation (including selected methods for reducing variance and computation time, like Russian roulette, multiple importance sampling or stratified sampling) and explanation of important light transport equations (rendering and transfer equations).

Finally the authors have described (and implemented) several solutions for the rendering equation: Whitted-style recursive ray tracing, direct illumination estimation, path tracing, irradiance caching and photon mapping.

However, it is not only the vastness of the material covered in this book, that causes this volume should be praised so highly. Perhaps, the style, in which this book has been written, is even more impressive. For each of the topics, the authors start with what is usually known as "dry math and theory", and then show how it is supposed to work as an algorithm (including its dirty details) and finally they explain how to turn this algorithm into C++ code. Each of those transitions concentrates on a small portion of the problem, so it is still easy to understand. Anyone, who had to turn a SIGGRAPH paper into something that works, will immediately recognize what kind of gem this book is - it actually shows how to do it!

This brilliant blend of theory and practice is one of its brightest spots, for learning the theory and math formulas is one thing, but writing a working, robust implementation is completely another.

Those, who prefer studying sources, will get source code of a very good, physically based, extensible ray tracer (called pbrt) with the best documentation one could ever imagine. Documentation that gives the rationale for almost every line of code. It shows not only how they did it, but also why they did it that way.

It is not the only book, that one will ever need - computer graphics is a vast topic - too big to be covered in a single volume, even as huge as this one. However, it is certainly one of the books that everyone interested in photorealistic rendering should buy. The price of this book is really low, if you think about it as of an excellent, first-rate computer graphics course.

Aimed at students, researchers and people interested in computer graphics algorithms, it is an indispensable book for anyone willing to write his own photorealistic (not necessarily physically based!) ray tracer and learn more about computer image synthesis.

In the Power of Being Human, Kira Rosner teaches us to dream big and love ourselves well, by reconnecting with our indwelling personal power. Having had a personal guidance session with Kira, I can highly recommend this service to others. She is so gifted at assisting us with letting go of the old baggage that has kept us operating in a limited way for years or decades. Her tollfree number, listed in the back of the book is 877-641-1414. What a great gift if you have friends or loved ones who may be ready for this guidance. Blessings like this are to be shared.

Kira leads you down a path that shines with truth and guides you to the wisdom of the power within oneself, a power that, each time I read her words, directs me towards self-awareness, self-acceptance, and self-love. The Power of Being Human is not a book to be read once and placed on the shelf to gather dust; the inspirational words written are to be read often, especially when the sight of the path to self-empowerment becomes blurred. Kira makes a substantial contribution to discovering ourselves anew and as beings of love. Her book is gently and loving written; powerful and very motivating.

Kira leads you down a path that shines with truth and guides you to the wisdom of the power within oneself, a power that, each time I read her words, directs me towards self-awareness, self-acceptance, and self-love. The Power of Being Human is not a book to be read once and placed on the shelf to gather dust; the inspirational words written are to be read often, especially when the sight of the path to self-empowerment becomes blurred. Kira makes a substantial contribution to discovering ourselves anew and as beings of love. Her book is gently and loving written; powerful and very motivating.

Kira writes this delicious and truthful book with a touch of class. Each word is carefully chosen with the hand of a poet and the keen eye of a mystic. This book is gentle, easy to read and understand, yet deeply insightful. It offers you guidance, clarity and wisdom to help make your precious life easier. I recommend this book to you if you want to be in deeper touch with your true self. It will assist you to live your life with self acceptance and love from the heartbeat of your authentic rhythm.

In The Power Of Being, Kira Rosner draws upon her many years of experience in teaching playshops to enliven the relationship between heart, mind, and body to explain to the reader how the secret to true happiness is not in becoming more powerful, but in recognizing just how powerful we already are. Rosner's blend of psychology and self-help advocacy is an informative survey of the power of human being, repression, believing, judgment, fear, reflection, listening, awareness, acceptance, love, choice, the mind, and desire. She speaks to power divided and harnessing the power within. The Power Of Being Human is highly rewarding reading.

The book is the account of the anarchist Alexander's Berkman's experiences in prison after his botched attempt to assassinate the industrialist Henry Clay Frick, the monster who "legally" slaughtered workers during the Homestead strike of 1892. Although Berkman never abandons his anarchist principles, he does soften his moral repugnance for criminals whose crimes were not motivated by political or humanitarian aims. If anything his friendships with prisoners deepen his anarchist insights about how exploitation and poverty are the principal causes of criminal behavior. Like his lover Emma Goldman, he spends his prison years advocating for the needs of his fellow inmates, often being punished for his advocacy. Berkman details the brutality, graft and corruption of the prison establishment.

Anticipating Victor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning, Berkman shows that those who view their punishment as a part of a larger purpose are best equipped to survive the inhuman treatment and conditions of prison life. The book is not all seriousness, however. It often has lighter moments, as when Berkman describes the quixotic attempt by his friends to tunnel into the prison to free him. Berkman's sub rosa argument, made to Goldman, that Leon Czologosz's assassination of President McKinley lacked redeeming social value, unlike his (Berkman's) attempt to assassinate Frick, while though interesting fails to be convincing. Those interested in the relationship of these remarkable people (Goldman and Berkman) will especially want to read that section.

The book is worth reading not merely for its historical value but for its literary qualities as well. It is intelligently written and difficult to put down. Although it is 518 pages, I read it all in three days. It is just that riveting.

In 1892, Alexander Berkman burst into the office of Henry Frick, an overseer at Carnegie's steelworks, and attempted to gun him down to foment a revolutionary uprising. Frick survived. Berkman went to jail. Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist is Berkman's account, not only of the revolutionary ardor which drove him to assault Frick, but also of the horrors of incarceration and the transformation of his own thinking while behind bars.

We get plenty of revolutionary and anarchist theory from Berkman. He opens a door into the thoughts and feelings of people struggling for economic and social justice 100 years ago. More than that, he opens a door into the mindset of a fanatic, one which may help us understand the motivations of those who flew their planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on 9/11/2001:

"Could anything be nobler than to die for a grand, a sublime Cause? Why, the very life of a true revolutionist has no other purpose, no significance whatever, save to sacrifice it on the altar of the beloved People." (p. 12)

"My own individuality is entirely in the background; aye, I am not conscious of any personality in matters pertaining to the Cause. I am simply a revolutionist; a terrorist by conviction, an instrument for furthering the cause of humanity." (p. 13)

"True, the Cause often calls upon the revolutionist to commit an unpleasant act; but it is the test of a true revolutionist-nay, more, his pride-to sacrifice all merely human feeling at the call of the People's Cause." (p. 12)

Berkman, the purist, disdains his fellow prisoners. He sees himself as better than they are, a Servant of Humanity, not a petty criminal, a predator on the poor. But, life in prison, although it does not shake his revolutionary and anarchist convictions, does bring him down from his ivory tower. Berkman begins to see that:

"The individual, in certain cases, is of more direct and immediate consequence than humanity. What is the latter but the aggregate of individual existences-and shall these, the best of them, forever be sacrificed for the metaphysical collectivity?" (p. 403)

His revolutionary understanding also shifts. He begins to differentiate between the autocratic despotism of Europe and the despotism of republican institutions:

"The despotism of republican institutions is far deeper, more insidious, because it rests on the popular delusion of self-government and independence. That is the subtle source of democratic tyranny, and, as such, it cannot be reached with a bullet. In modern capitalism, exploitation rather than oppression is the real enemy of the people ... the battle is to be waged in the economic rather than the political field." (p. 424)

This is not, however, a political manifesto (for that, one can read Berkman's ABCs of Anarchism). Berkman reveals his inner processes during fourteen years of incarceration. We discover, not only the horrors and corruption of the prison system, but also wander intimately through Berkman's mind. We visit his childhood, soften at unexpected gentlenesses behind bars, and begin to appreciate something as simple as the sunrise.

Although Berkman did not write the memoir until after he left prison, it has a sense of surreal immediacy. He wrote in the present tense, but that alone does not account for the way his text grips, and drags the reader into the maelstrom of his experience. We run with him through childhood memories, daily brutality, fantasies of escape and suicide, and the ideals that keep him sane. His longing for Emma Goldman shines through the text. He enthrones her almost as the guardian of his sanity through the years. Little can compare with the poignancy of his fantasy of mailing himself to his beloved Emma, escaping prison and finding himself with her again. (p. 135-137)

Five stars. Absolutely brilliant work, as relevant today as it was nearly 100 years ago. In her autobiography, Living my Life, Emma Goldman recounted how Berkman saved his sanity and his life by writing this memoir. The deep introspection, the flights of fancy, the accounting of prison life-all deeply illumine the best and the worst of human nature. This book is required reading for anybody who wishes to understand the fanatical, terrorist mindset, for Berkman describes that aptly. Far more importantly, he shares the experience of survival and transformation. He, who entered prison a fanatic, left those iron gates more committed than ever to his cause, but no longer a fanatic. His story tells of graduating from terrorist to humanist, from monomaniacal fanatic to a deeply committed human being. If you read nothing else this year, read this book.

(If you'd like to dialogue with me about this book or review, please click the "about me" link above and drop me an email. Thanks!)

Everyone should read this book. It was written at the begining of the 19th century, but everything is still important today. I ordered this book for a friend in prison and he loved it, and passed it around to other prisoners. If you know anyone in jail or prison, please send them this book. It was my husband's favorite book before he was killed on a freight train. It's very well written and comes highly recommended.

This is one of the best memoirs I have ever read. Berkman, as you probably know, tried to kill Henry Frick in an ill fated (and stupid) solidarity action with a group of strikers. He went to jail for it, and his immature poltics underwent an amazing transistion.

But instead of coming out of jail reformed, he came out with a more complex sense of who he was and what he had to do and returned immediately to his poltical work. Berkman's writing style changes as he changes as a person, starting out ultra doctrinare and ending up a more well rounded and likeable human being. Highly recommened, even if you aren't interested in the politics.

"Is there anything higher in life than to be a true revolutionist...?" - From Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist

This is an incredibly moving and detailed account of an activist's experiences in early industrial America. As an Anarchist, Alexander Berkman recounts his observations of the era's struggle for decent living standards and fair treatment from fat cat industrialists. In prison for attempted assasination of a steel magnate who was responsible for firing and killing striking steel workers, Berkman eloquently describes his reasons for acting on behalf of the working poor and exploited. His experiences in prison are gut wrenching and very human. Not much fluffy language - very straighforward observations, which are emotionally piercing in their social significance and human truth. An exceptional read for anyone interested in the American history that is usually left out of school text books. Berkman's experiences are painful but very motivating and inspiring as they illustrate human love, the will to survive and continue to work for an ideal under the most horrendous conditions. This book is an extraordinary powerful testament to human goodness and strength.

Excellent modern history of the US military from the Vietnam War up until 1995 or so. The history is told through semi-biographies of officers who began their careers around the time of the Vietnam War and chose to stay in the military, despite all of the problems that were evident in Vietnam. The draft, which brought in sub-standard service members, was a disastrous way to build a military. Thankfully, a number of dedicated people stuck around to see the military made stronger. From the all-volunteer military, to the GI Bill, to the Reagan defense build=up, to the Goldwater-Nichols Act, to the Gulf War, highly motivated and intelligent men helped improve the military so that it could overwhelm the Iraqi forces in the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

One of the officers who was featured quite prominently was Barry McCaffrey. I have come to appreciate his interesting analysis on television, but I never knew his life story. Though it didn't surprise me as I knew he retired as a general, but what an impressively courageous man he has been throughout his military career! What he went through in Vietnam is enough to amaze even the gutsiest American.

Another interesting aspect of the book was the coverage of contentious social issues that the military has had to deal with: race, women, and gays and lesbians. Kitfield pointed out the increasingly important role that blacks and women have played in the US Armed Forces.

Regrettably we are left to wonder what happened since then when our powerful military get sucked into a war in Iraq, starting in 2003 with no end in sight, without a plan to finish it. It's easy enough to point to Tommy Franks, Richard Myers, and others, but maybe there's a larger institutional story to tell about the debacle that is now Iraq. Hopefully Kitfield will tell that story too. He has a book out about Iraq, but since it was written a year or two ago, it can't possibly accommodate for all that has occurred since publication.

James Kitfield has studied one of the most turbulent times in American military history and distilled its lessons into one tightly written narrative that is both engaging and full of tremendous insight. The passage through the ranks of the Vietnam generation officer corps molded our 1980's military into a truly revolutionary force. Their experiences in the muddle of Vietnam and the lessons they extracted colored every decision and every reform they sought in their service. In the end, while not perfect, these able officers forged a doctrine based around rapid, audacious movement, technology and local authority--all things lacking in Vietnam. The payoff came with the tremendous victory in the 1991 Gulf War.

This book needs to be read by every officer in every service. Study this, extract the lessons. Many of the mistakes made during the Vietnam-Era have now repeated themsleves in the War on Terror. Many of the lessons Colin Powell and others taught us during Desert Storm have already been forgotten.

If you are an officer, buy this book. Let it guide you through the many critical decisions you will have to face during the years ahead as you work your way through your own career. And never forget the most important lesson of all: never chose your career and its future over doing the right thing. Prodigal Soldiers pointedly demonstrates that when senior officers do that, men die needlessly.

John Bruning
Author of "The Devil's Sandbox: At War with the 2-162 Infantry in Iraq"
John_Bruning_jr[...]

I first read James Kitfield's book in 2000 and have just finished rereading it. I am recommending it to my sons, an Air Force pilot working on his master's in military science and an Army combat engineer, as one of the four most influential books on the development of the United States military since WW II. The author traces in a very readable style the coming of age of the officers of all branches of service during the Viet Nam and post-Viet Nam eras and how those experiences shaped our ability to win a decisive victory in the 1990 Gulf War. The book also reveals the back room political wheeling and dealing that goes into watershed legislation such as the sweeping reforms of the Goldwater-Nichols Act. It's a "must read" for every professional military leader and student of the art of war.

When you read a book like this and have seen the Army at its best and worst. That and have seen the gradual improvement to where the Army is today, i.e. one of the most trusted institutions and one of the greatest killing machines since the Roman Legions under the early Caesars. I just feel better and safer. That and I want to thank all those who did not turn tail and run away from the wreck of the post Vietnam War Military but stayed and fixed it. God Bless you all!

From the prologue to the epilogue, and everything in between, this book is fantastic reading. Anyone who has ever been associated with the U.S. military will have a much clearer picture of the totality of resurection within all the services after Vietnam. "Duty, Honor, and Country" does not always mean the same thing to different people, to some it means a career that spans over thirty years, to others the words are just something on a recruiting poster. To anyone who reads the book these three words will take on a much clearer meaning. Some chapters will cause tears in even the toughest of old veterans, and even the young generation of future service members will begin to understand some of the major events which have transpired in the military in the decades since Vietnam. James Kitfield tells a story that is not just a chronicle, or a documentary, but a story worthy of telling, and he does it with style.

I LOVED this book and I went on line to order it for some friends. My book is in full color and the ones that I ordered on Amazon are black and white only and it take away some of the comic book effect that the book held special. I LOVE this book but I am very dissapointed that they do not specify when the books are in color or black and white when this book comes in either.

A succinct review of basic parenting skills. A little too optimistic when describing time out procedures, but otherwise a great "primer" for parents.

I was haveing big problems with my 4 year old adhd son and his consler showed me this book and you know alot of this book was me! I really did not realize it till I was showed that I was just giving my son control of ME and I was not really being the parent. I was letting me son run My life and this book made me see that. THANK YOU FOR COMING OUT WITH A BOOK TO SHOW US PARENTS THAT THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A PURRFECT PARENT BUT WE ALL ARE STILL LEARNING! I am still learning to this day. My son seems happier that I am not putting so many adult decisions on him but that I am letting him be a child! once again thank you so much and I hope other parents find this book as helpful as I did. I do not own one yet but I'm trying to get one.Times are rough for me right now but as soon as I get back on me feet, And hopefully soon I will buy the used one. Hope everyone else gets what I did out of this book. Thank you so much Charity Castleberry

Everything you need to raise polite, nice, well-mannered kids (works for pets, too!) is in this book. It's not rocket science, but you DO need to be consistent, firm, and rational. It might be easy to dismiss the content based on the humorous presentation, but this book will solve (and prevent!) your child(ren)'s behavioral and discipline issues.

PLEASE REPUBLISH THIS TITLE! We loaned ours out and it is gone. We want to give this book to all our friends with kids, but can't and now we can't lend it.

This is a light hearted book about the very serious job of parenting. Sound simple advice that works! I am anxious for this book to be re-printed. I used it with my now 14 year son an would love an updated version to use with my 18 month old twins. I would definately give this book as a gift at baby showers or to those parents that are having difficult times with their children. So please, please, please give us more of PURRFECT PARENTING!!!

This is the Rattle Snake Bible. Klauber was not only the head of the San Diego Zoos reptile house for many years, he still is referenced in association with rattlesnakes as the formost expert years after his death and it is well deserved. His research was ground breaking (although now it seems elementary in some ways I.E. his heat pit research.) and interesting to read. Its no wonder they chose to name the banded rock rattle snake in his honor (crotalus viridis klauberii).

This book is still the best book on rattlesnakes, decades after it was published. That alone ought to stand as a testament to the value this book has. The author brought an incredibly analytical mind to this book, and it shows. Some of the medical information is out of date, as is some of the taxonomy, but much on the habitats, morphology, ecology, interaction with man, etc. still holds true.

His work on the rattlesnakes strike, on comparitive morphology of the two genera, etc. still stand. This book covers rattlesnakes in incredible depth, going over every detail of these serpents. It's a godsend for those of us interested in rattlers. This book leaves no stone unturned (herping joke, sorry). It covers it's subject matter completly and professionally, and is well worth having on the bookshelf as a reference. If you like rattlers, or for that matter find zoology interesting, this book is a worthwhile read. If only more herpetological text were near as thorough as this one...

I read this book in the mid 90's just for the heck of it, and found it to be wonderful. The style is neither dryly academic nor breathlessly tabloid, but just right. The text answers almost all possible questions about rattlesnake life, legends, myths, and taxonomy that one could think of. It is one of the few books I have read that could be used as either a reference or vacation book.

rattelsnakes are dangerus and they well strick' and rattel wheen they are in a bad place were auther pray come by. you will allso want to watch were you are wakeing on the ground. thank you evere much for your time. chris j coombes.

Anything and everything you need to know about these great reptiles! Status, morphology, the rattle, bodily functions, behavior, population and ecology, food, reproduction, venom apparatus, envenomation and its effects, treatment and prevention of envenomation, control an utilization, enemies of rattlesnakes, Indians and rattlesnakes, post-Columbian knowledge of rattlesnakes, myths, folklore and tall stories.

Each page is easy to read, and has all the information you need for each recreation site, including phone numbers, boating allowed and more. Book is set up well, with the areas of CA split up in Northern, Central and Southern. Great info on lakes in all of California - I wish I could visit them all! I do wish there was an index to explain some of the terms. I would buy this book again!

great book...very informative...had one like it back in the early nineties,glad to find one up to date...love to say more...but i'm going fishin' !

Informative and nicely detailed maps. The cartoons are funny and the layout is like a good resume, it shows you what you want to know.

For those of us who have this quest to visit every state in America or on a more local note, to travel Hwy 101 from border to border (and not starting in the middle somewhere) or stop at every State Park and Historical Monument in CA (and get your stamp in that State Park book), this book is for you. The layout of this spiral-bound book is so simple. For one, you can flip it over just like a notebook. There is no spine or glue to break down with pages falling out from bending the book backwards so much. Secondly, the lakes are diagrammed and labeled from top to bottom, North to South. The author just knew this book would be for those us who want to start at the Oregon border and work our way down, visting every lake in CA. Lake amenities such as availability of campsites and boat ramps are listed under each lake. For those us who live for camping and/or boating this is a must-have.

Clerly illustrates the necessary info about all lakes and places to enjoy boating. Easy to understand and use. We have purchased three editions over last ten years. Always in our boat. Suggestion, use a large zip-lock type bag to keep dry. Listen to the voice of experience. Also, it is not an effective storage method to leave on top of Jeep as you drive away from lake. Has a habit of not staying on top of car for 50 mile trip home.

This is a valuable reference and will save you disappointments in chosing the wrong lake. Call ahead to the individual facilities and ask questions. This is helpful in planning trips to the lake for your family. Enjoy.

Contrary to one of the other reviewer's comments, the importance of this book is in showing precicely that it is not the "endemic" culture of Silicon Valley, but rather the innovative institutions and networked relationships in Silicon Valley that explains the region's success. A great contribution to the literature on embeddedness and network forms of organization.

The book is written by a person who lived in the Route 128 area and in the Silicon Valley. Besides the great insights and fantastic scholarly work, the book reflects the experience of seeing the development of both regions, not only through the eyes of a scholar, but also through the experiences that can only be gained by "being there."

The best book I have ever read concerning High Tech culture. Everyone should read this book to better understand how to motivate info exchange and networking among our society and world.

saxenian argues that silicon valley's competitive advantage is the vast network of small firms that compose silicon valley and cross pollinate each other. she compares the valley to the route 128 area in boston which she classifies as detrimentally hierarchical, even puritanical.

Although she is a bit partial to the Silicon Valley area, the author presents the information in a very "down to earth", easy to read fashion - not too technical or too dry.

I have all RenderMan books on the market.
This one is impressed me!
The authors explain step by step and that make readers understand RenderMan more.

Same as other reviews, lacking of CD is the shame.
However, overall still be very good to me.
And if you consider the price is very worth for money.
That's why I think this book should be given 5 stars.
Hopefully, There will be more good RenderMan books available soon.

Tee

The RenderMan Shading Language Guide is an excellent resource. It contains numerous examples of shader code, to help get you started with writing your own shaders. I was happy to see the robust section on illumination models, with some sl code provided for most of them. I found the section that had common functions (like gamma() and remap()) very helpful, and appreciated the disscussion on more sophisticated components of the shading language (like subsurface scattering and global illumination). In addition, for the user who is new to the process of writing and compiling shaders, a number of pages are devoted to explaining how to achieve these goals. All in all, I would highly recommend this book to any user who wants to learn how to write his/her own RenderMan shaders.

I caught wind that this book was coming out well before it actually came out and could hardly contain my excitement. I had it ordered before it was even off the press.

Let's face it, trying to learn Renderman online is like trying to ride a bike with a flat tire. You can go, but not very fast or very far. I own several other renderman books but found them to be a bit out of date and lacking in areas. Since leaving school and entering into the industry I had actually been considering writing a Renderman book myself. I am glad to say that now I don't have to!

I have been enjoying my copy of the book since december of last year. I admit that I was thrown off by all the refrences to the accompanying cd, as well as a few typos throughout. I was overjoyed however to find the website today! This is the book that I have needed for a long time. It is well worth what you pay for it.

I have read many technical manuals relating to the 3D Animation and Visual Effects industries, and I can honestly say that this is easily one of the best available.

Given the limited library of Renderman books, I'd call this an absolute must have for any Lighting/Rendering/Shader TD, or any artist or technical director involved in the look development and shot finaling pipelines.

Even if you haven't yet worked within a Renderman pipeline, this is the perfect publication to introduce you to, and bring you up to speed in, the Renderman Shading Language (RSL).

I've found that the majority of technical manuals suffer from a number of common flaws:

1. The information is presented chaotically, and with minimal use of examples or descriptions, resulting in a publication that would readable only by those that already know everything it has to teach.

2. The information is presented so laboriously that what should take a paragraph instead takes up three chapters.

The Renderman Shading Language Guide is perfectly paced for beginners and intermediate users alike, and indeed when I showed the book to a couple of highly experienced Renderman TDs, they were surprised by the sheer volume of information and ordered copies for themselves.

Everything is presented in short blocks with an easily readable description, examples, shortcuts and conclusions. There is no unecessarily complicated geek speek, and neither is the reader treated like a 4 year old.

Even though I barely remember my high school math, and in the most flattering estimation I'd be considered a competent beginner when it comes to the math involved in RSL, I found the examples relatively easy to follow for the most part. And in those parts where the math went well over my head, I found the simple descriptions and concise, well explained instructions to be all I needed to quickly understand the topic.

From cover to cover this book is crammed full of useful information. There is no wastage of space in these pages. It seems that every conceivable question is answered - every possible topic covered from introduction to an advanced level of understanding and a practical and immmediately useful conclusion.

And at the price? This book is a steal.

One very minor complaint I would make is in regards to the occasional typographical error. An equation or two is printed with "?" in place of "*" or another symbol, and there are a few spelling and grammatical errors. But as I said, it is a minor complaint.

Also, I would have liked to have seen more complete shader examples demonstrated in a step-by-step process, as while this book is overflowing with informative mini-tutorials, it all seems a little incongruous. It would have been good to see a few more examples where the information was brought together in real-world ways to create some amazing completed shaders. Perhaps in a sequel? ;)

All in all, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, from an industry Lead Lighting TD.

9.5/10

I'm quite pleased with the depth of this book. So many of the CGI titles I've bought that claim to be intermediate or advanced aren't. While the RenderMan Shading Language Guide assumes that you have no starting knowledge of RSL, it immediately dives into technical details without overwhelming the novice. For someone wishing to learn RSL (or even just shader theory), this book is wonderfully paced, containing a great depth of information, very well explained.

At the same time, this isn't a book for dabblers. To get much out of the RenderMan Shading Language Guide, you need to be willing to put some effort and practice into it. This is a textbook and needs to be treated as a subject of study, rather than a casual enhancement for playing with CGI. If RenderMan intrigues you, but you don't want to get too deep into the technical (and programing/scripting) aspects, you'd be better off getting Pixar's RenderMan for Maya and a Digital Tutors or similar training DVD. You'll learn more of the simple, day-to-day things and get started making renderings faster.

As another poster mentioned, the text mentions an included disk which isn't. The website doesn't have downloads either. That omission would knock the book down to 4.5 stars, but since I can't rate with half-stars, 5 stars more accurately reflects the value of the book than 4.

Remember that? This is a must read/item for those that have lived the history. If you've been part of the ride, then you know the story. But Jerry Reynolds has filled in the blanks with information that you could only get from... well, from Jerry Reynolds: The front office background on the Terry Tyler and Derek Smith trades; Bobby Hurley's potential and toughness; the head coach candidates; actual Bill Russell conversations (apparently he could talk... and laugh). What? We could have "stole" Detlef Schrempf!?!? The book even helped explain my "unique" encounter with Jawann Oldham on the day he was cut loose by the Kings.

Aside from all the great Kings gems that have been unearthed, there is some foreground on Jerry himself as well as documentation of his "rise" up the organization. Like everyone else, I would have liked for the book to be longer--182 pages for 20 years is just not enough. Oh well, Reynolds Remembers is a great and easy read, but to the Kings fan, it's truly great literature--the man did minor in English after all.

The details within "Reynolds Remembers" paint a vivid and entertaining picture of what life was like for a struggling and then reborn NBA franchise. It was filled with anecdotes and humorous observations of true events. I enjoyed it very much.

Although, I wish there had been more than a single page describing Jerry's "the Carly Simon period." Maybe we'll hear more in a sequel.

Jerry Reynolds and Don Drysdale's Reynolds Remembers: 25 Years With The Sacramento Kings is for any interested in the evolution of a shortstring operation which couldn't compete to a model NBA franchise. The Kings are celebrating their 20th season in Sacramento, California - and Jerry Reynolds was part of them before their rise to fame. His memoir celebrates their growth and provides a powerful leader's first-person experiences.

I have been a Kings fan my whole life and I truly enjoyed reliving the past 20 years with Reynolds. It is amazing on how fast we forget the early teams and players and how soon we get used to 50 win seasons. Reynolds uses the same humor and great one-liners in the book that he uses in his telecasts. I just wish the book contained more personal stories and memories and I can only hope that a sequel is in the works. Here's to another great 20 years of Reynolds and to another book.

A riveting read. I could not put this book down. A truly must read for all Sacramento Kings fans. A book any real NBA fan should enjoy. Being able to learn some of the inner thoughts of a real NBA insider is rare.

If only there had been more amusing stories and anecdotes Reynolds is so well known for. These reflecting the personalities of NBA players few of us fans ever see. Maybe this will be in Reynolds next book "Reynolds Remembers More" ?? We can only hope!!