In the appendix, Peddie makes the claim that artist Albrecht Dürer originated ray tracing with his 1502 painting of a hare, which displays all of the visual techniques of composition that ray tracing must apply in a good image. Computational ray tracing is not quite that old--it originated in the 1960s. This unconventional book approaches ray tracing historically, following the development of algorithms and their implementation in software, and the increasing capabilities of the hardware that will generate the image.

The historical viewpoint is accompanied by a critical evaluation of the technologies as the software and hardware evolved. There are eight chapters in the book. The first two chapters are introductory, giving an overview of the ray tracing technology. The next five chapters cover the industry producing ray tracing tools; a very nontechnical exposition of the fundamental algorithms and physics of representing objects; reproduction of the properties of materials and their surfaces; stages in developing products using ray tracing tools from conception of the project through marketing; and hardware used for displaying images, emphasizing the different capabilities of central processing unit (CPU) versus graphics processing unit (GPU) processing.

In chapter 8--nearly half the book--Peddie critically reviews 58 ray tracing programs and plug-ins grouped into several categories: standalone programs, integrated programs incorporating ray tracing components, plug-ins that can be inserted in other programs, middleware standing between programs and the operating system, cloud-based programs, and a handful of small programs suitable for hobbyists.

This book is not for readers looking for a hands-on, how-to introduction to ray tracing. Its target readership includes people in the industry who are seeking a more general overview of the tools available. The book emphasizes the commercial use of ray tracing. It is well written.

The book’s historical approach provides a good perspective. The critical reviews of software products and hardware issues are authoritative. The sample illustrations are stunning. Peddie includes a table of available programs and plug-ins that includes the licenses and operating systems on which the software runs. A glossary of terms and acronyms follows the appendix. References and a list of textbooks on ray tracing conclude the book.