Visual Perception: Physiology, Psychology and Ecology

This is a great book for graduate studies of perception. It is very detailed in covering important topics and it is up to date with most recent research. The amount of detail sometimes can be overwhelming, so I wouldn't recommend it for undergraduates. The authors sometimes get side tracked into lengthy discussions of a particular subject, but overall it's a good book. I received it within days of my order and for a better price that I could get in the book store.

I have used this book for over ten years now as one of the texts in an intermediate level cognitive science course on perception and action. Each year I review the new offerings in the field, and each year I come back to this book as the best available. Its greatest strengths are (1) the thoroughness with which it covers both the theoretical disputes and the empirical literature on vision, (2) its broadly interdisciplinary nature, including work from the neurosciences, artificial intelligence, and human and animal behavior, and (3) its emphasis on the deep connections between how we see and how we move. This combination of approaches is simply not to be found in any other book on vision. Understanding the last of these -- that the way we see is thoroughly integrated with how we move about in the world -- will change your view of a great many things about human nature. What keeps it from being perfect? The writing style of the book is clunky at times, and sometimes the exposition isn't as clear as it could be, so that readers who are new to the subject may have to work hard at some points to understand some of the more complex material. However, you'll be rewarded for your efforts if you make them. All in all, a great introduction to a fascinating set of issues.

Whatever your interest area is, related to perception, of course, here you can find a very complete guide to visual perception; not very simple, neither too deep, just what you need for becoming almost an expert in a short time.