Rating: 
Summary: Good information
Review: I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, I've been waiting for a long time for a decent Direct3D book to refer beginners to, and this is one of the best so far. On the other hand, being the "best" among Direct3D books really isn't saying much, and this book is far from perfect.
Overall, this book covers a lot of good material, including some of the more advanced aspects of DX8, and the code itself is pretty solid. Unfortunately, the explanations can be a little hard to understand, partially due to the fact that the author isn't a native English speaker (the chapters on physics and collision detection don't suffer this problem, though, being written by someone else), so you may find yourself having to reread things several times.
I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone who doesn't have some game programming and DirectX knowledge, but I would recommend it for someone who wants to get up to speed on the latest version of D3D, especially if they have used a previous version of Direct3D - or even another 3D API - or if they are willing to put the effort into working through the chapters to dig out the (truly useful) information they contain.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't buy this book - Buy a bat.
Review: After you buy the bat, take it home and hit yourself over the head with it several times. Why? Compared to reading this book the bat is cheaper, you will learn more, and the entire process will be less painful. Ok, seriously. There is some very good information in here. The problem is that the writer's style is very hard to follow. Many times I found myself wondering wether he just made a point or a joke. #1 - Even his grammer is poor. Somewhat better than gradeschool but still leagues below most professional authors. Many times I read his sentences more than once just to figure out what he was saying. #2 - His line of thought is not clear. He talks about one topic for a while then abruptly stops talking about the first topic and starts talking about another. I often found myself wondering if he had other information to give us about the previous topic and just forgot to come back to it. #3 - Direct3D is an intense subject and he does very little to soften the learning curve. For the most part he just lines up the topics in the easiest - hardest order and expects you to follow along. #4 - He doesn't provide near enough examples. Most books I have seen usually supply 3-4 of THEIR OWN examples per chapter. Mr. Engel supplies two in chapter 6 and one each in chapters 5, 8, 9, and 10, and a few in chapter 12. Almost all of his examples are in the DirectX SDK. Why did I rate it a two instead of a one?
OK, the part about "learning more by hitting yourself with a bat," I was kidding there. There is some good information in this book. Kind of like diamonds to a new programmer. You have to wade through a cess pool to find the diamonds, but they are in there. -Kanon Update - I have since found several other books (example : Special Effects Prog. w/ DX 8.0) with those diamonds. I suggest you do too.
Rating: 
Summary: Easy to read
Review: This book gives you the right mixture to start Direct3D programming. You won't find a better book on Direct3D 8. I have worked with DirectX since version 2 and this one is the best. Easy to read, easy to understand and with easy to use source. Absolutly Great ! And ... watch out for the tutorials of Wolf on his web-site.
Rating:
Summary: You will understand it
Review: Wolfgang makes complex things look simple ! Several month ago I started to look for informations on Direct3D programming and I saw Wolf's book. Man! I can't tell you how much have I enjoyed his books!
It is a real pleasure to read it. Not only are you going to learn a lot about programming, basic maths, basic physics and basic direct3d drawing: you'll also love it! He is able to make complex things look simple and enjoyable.
If you are new and trying to start with game programming try this book. Absolutly recommended !
Rating:
Summary: Great Book for the Beginning Direct3D Programmer
Review: When i first looked up this book i was so skeptical and unsure of what this book would contain or teach me. Now after reading it I am really surprised what I have learned so far.
Being a novice to programming for Direct3D this was a great help. I loved how the author would go slowly and explain things in great detail, so that its difficult not to follow him. One of the best things about this book is the broad range of materials that he delves into and not just the coding examples but the reasoning behind his actions are all explained to show many different aspects of direct3d programming. Definately recommended as a read for anyone who wants to get into direct3d programming.
Rating:
Summary: It's the best
Review: Never try to leave your house without this book. Every page is important. You will get the big picture on Direct3D programming with ... tataaaa ... Direct3D 8, not Direct3D 7. You won't miss the appendices, which show you how to program your own framework with a Win32 skeleton, that is optimised for game programming. Something substantial, that most of the other books didn't even mention. This book gave me a good start ... I love it. It is one of those important books, that I bought two times, so that I can do with the first copy whatever I like :-). Have fun, reading it !!!
Rating:
Summary: The Best!
Review: yeeah, that's the best book on Direct3D and I read them all (Kovach, Walsh, LaMothe). You are able to learn in a very short time, how to use the Direct3D API to create stunning effects. For example the chapters on multitexturing are the best coverage of the theme you will find. Read it.
Rating:
Summary: Top of the Line
Review: This is the book to learn 3D and Direct3D programming. There is even the best C++ introduction I have ever seen in the appendix. It's absolutly great.
Rating:
Summary: Read that book
Review: it's great. You will find all the Direct3D stuff very well explained. This book has the most pictures and illustrations of all game programming books I got. I even read the book from walsh, which is only useful for people who want to learn windows programming first.
Rating:
Summary: THE Direct3D bible
Review: You shouldn't miss that book. It is the best on Direct3D programming, you can find. You just have to know C and a little bit of math.
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