I'm looking to get into graphics programming, and im trying to figure out which book I should buy. I saw some books suggested here on the forums, but some of these books are pretty old, so i'm not sure how relevant they are in this time and age, and others are extremely expensive and I don't want to waste my money on a book that is OK at best.

I already have some basic knowledge, like how to do phong lighting, simple shadow maps, some post processing effects like tonemapping, bloom etc, but i'm trying to expland my knowledge to some more higher-level stuff.

I would prefer a book that likes to go in-depth in the theoretical parts, and also offers detailed code samples. Topics that interest me the most right now would be different shadow fitting techniques, maybe some CSM and deferred shading, maybe some stencil buffer magic, 3D animations, decals, geometry deformation etc... Just to name a few things.

I've only used opengl so far, so opengl orientated books would be preferred. I'm open to dx, but i would probably need something more... basic to start with that im guessing.

If you got a book to recommend to me, i'd be happy to hear it!

A book I can recommend is http://www.realtimerendering.com/ It covers a lot of relevant topics. However it does not have code samples and is more like a short overview of the different subjects. The good thing about it is, that it will point you to the right literature you need to fully understand and implement the topics.

General I would adwise against a book with detailed code samples. Trying to implement it yourself and solving problems along the way helps you learn a lot more. After finishing your implementation you can always compare yours with other code.

Hi there.
It depends on what your goal is, do you want to create a game or make your own engine?
(or perhaps just gaining knlowledge)

The primary goal is to gain knowledge, eventually i want to make my own engine, just for the sake of making one, nothing i actually intent to use in a serious context

GPU Pro series.

Would you suggest reading the entire series, or just the latest book?