Beginning Game Art in 3ds Max 8 (ISBN 1592009085)

Stay away until the files are available for download...:
The model sheets for Chapters 4, 6 & 7 are missing from the companion CD, rendering the majority of the book impossible to follow. Chapters 3 and 5 also demonstrate some dubious modeling and texturing techniques with enough omissions in the text that a beginner is certain to be lost. Also, how can game art production be discussed seriously without some reference to baking textures and exporting to Direct X?

Find another Max 8 book:
Avoid this book and spend your time on another if you want to learn Max. There are numerous files required for the tutorials that are missing from the CD, and easily dozens of omission/typos that will have you going in wrong directions if you don't figure things out on your own. I even contacted the publisher re: this and they simply pointed me to their website that has the downloadable color versions of the book's black & white screenshots, but they haven't bothered to make the missing textures and guide images available. This book was simply not edited nor were the tutorials tested in Max after the authors wrote it. Seriously, don't even buy this used as you will not get your money's worth. LOUSY!!!!!!