I tend not to enjoy taking classes formally. I love learning, and I hate schools. The structured format of most education strikes me as being necessary and unfortunate for those of us for whom nothing is real until applied. It is in application that things become real for me, not in the study of the theory.
Given that I've taken up photography lately, it is only natural that the first "how-to" books that I review here be photography related.
Landscape Photography, by John Shaw. Beginning landscape photographers, look no further. John Shaw will explain the mysteries of photography to you: f-stops, shutter speeds, exposure compensation, film speed, lenses, filters, composition, light, and color all come together in this wonderful book from an expert to a beginner. John Shaw differs from Galen Rowell, in that Shaw takes pictures of the mundane, while Rowell's photographs are those of the majestic and the magical. The world has places for both.
The Nature Photographer's Complete Guide to Professional Field Techniques, by John Shaw. Aspiring Nature Photographers could do worse than this book. It is less addressed to the beginner than Landscape Photography above. Shaw skips the basics and jumps straight into exposure problems, solutions, and spends significant time on close-up or macro photography. An important development covered in Landscape Photography but not here is the use of graduated Neutral Density filters.
Mountain Light, by Galen Rowell. If you're looking for inspiration, look no further. The master adventure photographer takes you from the Sierras to Alaska to Tibet in an exploration of his personal vision. Every picture in this book is inspiring and gorgeous. Rowell carried limited equipment on his mountaineering trips, yet come back with pictures that make us all hang our heads in shame. Read the stories behind his pictures, and gasp in amazement at his casual description of chasing rainbows at 14000 feet to get his pictures. Rowell combines an understanding of the technical background behind lighting and technique with a vision that is authentic to produce pictures that are head and shoulders above the crowd. Every aspiring photographer should have a copy of this book.
The Art of Adventure Photography, by Galen Rowell. A collection of Rowell's column for Outdoor Photographer, this book reads surprisingly coherently. He covers topics from tripods and ND filters to the treatment of photographers in our National Parks. He amazes you with the breadth of his travels. This book isn't as instructional or inspirational as Mountain Light above, but it is still an excellent read.
Basic Photographic Materials and Processes, by Leslie Stroebel, John Compton, Ira Current, Richard Zakia. This book was recommended to be as the book to read on photography. Unfortunately, I find myself getting very little out of it. Too much of the material is abstract, and I find it hard going even for a technical person. (Of course, I'm not a physicist, and the lens diagrams reminds me of lab experiments when I was in high school) The book makes a good reference, but I can't bring myself to recommend it to anyone who's a beginner.
Lens Work, by Canon. This is a glorified lens catalogue for Canon. Paying $25 for a catalogue of lenses is the height of decadence, but on the other hand, there's a description also of the EOS system that I haven't been able to find elsewhere, as well as a table of various lens features and accessories that makes it possible for me to buy stuff mail order. If you're an EOS fan or owner, then this book is worth the cash. Otherwise, add the money to your lens fund. I have no idea why this entire book isn't just on the web.