It is a bit odd to comment about the publishers of Photography books. However, at least to me, there seem to be some strong traits shared by books from the various publishing houses -- enough that I noticed and write about it here. All in all, I think all of the publishers print reasonable material that meets some needs. However, some publishers have books that I prefer. I don't know why -- the most simple reason is the author and their continued use of that publisher. Another reason could be the editorial slant of the publisher or the direction they herd their authors in.
That being said .... here are my comments:
I think Amherst's books are a bit over-priced compared to books from other publishers. In addition they often seem to be of rather limited venue, instead of a general coverage of a subject. However, to give them their due, they do have a number of books by Ernst Wildi which I think are quite good. In addition, if you are looking for a book on just the topic which their books' cover, the information presented is highly relevant.
I think that Focal has a good variety of books, especially in the general photographic technical field. Their books on digital darkroom techiniques (aka Photoshop) are decent too.
I have a few books from Silver Pixel which are quite good. Silver Pixel is also responsible for publishing the Kodak books.
Kodak's workshop series of books is interesting. Like the Amherst books, they cover only a specific area. However they usually cost about half as much. However, coming from a giant company, they often lack the isms and lessons one can learn from an individual photographer or writer. At the same time, you often receive the knowledge available to a huge photographic company with loads of experience about things that ordinary photographers will never experience. Kodak also has a pro workshop series which covers topics such as Wedding Photography, Portraiture, Studio Photography, Beauty and Nudes Photography, and other subjects. These books are a bit more general than the workshop technique books, but are still rather concentrated on the subject with not a lot of humor. I keep on wanting to pick one of these up, for they seem interesting, and I'd like to get a better idea of their content by actually reading one.
AmPhoto has a number of good books. In particular the Bryan Peterson books are good.
There are many sources of fine photographic books, I've just touched on a few that I seem to find myself going back to for more books. Sometimes it is just author based, other times lineup based.
Canon's LensWork is supposed to be a great treatise on optical properties of lenses. Instead of just discussing the various angles of views of each kind of this book dues more. It discusses optical properties of lenses and includes explanations and examples of many things. For example, distortions, contrast, resolution and flare. Of course it is also illustrated with Canon FD series lenses. Gary Coombs has a copy of it which he scanned in.
The venerable Ilford Manual of Photography is still available from Focal as the Manual of Photography. I am told this is an excellent reference to B&W and darkroom work.
Ctein's Post Exposure is supposed to have a lot of good dark room info, including information about bronzing of RC prints.
Anchell has a number of darkroom books starting with his classic Darkroom Cookbook, and his recent Variable Contrast Printing book.
Paterson Darkroom Basics ... and Beyond by Roger Hicks and Frances Schultz is excellent. I will warn you that it was sponsored by Paterson and that a lot of the book mentions their equipment ... but other equipment is mentioned as well. Take that opinion from a person who is interested in darkroom work, but has not done any. I think this book presents enough depth and breadth of knowledge to prepare you for working in the darkroom, and/or for understanding other darkroom material. Other darkroom books that I have looked at and read tend to approach the subject in the wrong way -- they dive into selection of developers and formulating your own chemistry, This book goes through the process of running darkroom processes, as well as reasonable advice for someone who doesn't have any experience. There is a generous amount of information illustrating what happens to the film and paper throughout the process instead of just saying "voila, it is done". In addition to the process information there is also discussion of how to evaluate negatives and prints, which is helpful in analyzing what is going wrong ... in-camera? film development? printing? print development? post processing? In addition, this book goes beyond basic darkroom processes as well. A range of darkroom photographic processes is discussed; thins which I have always wondered about but haven't found, or have never even heard of. For example, sepia or other toning. Spotting, bromoil, abrasion and print reversal, lithography. The book ends by discussing how to produce very large prints with ordinary equipment ... just how do you develop 24x36 inch prints without gallons of developer and huge trays? All in all, I recommend this book for anyone considering darkroom work. It really gets you pointed in the right direction and gives you the information you need to start making decisions.
Author: Ernst Wildi
Author: Julien Busselle
I've enjoyed the three books which Bryan Peterson has written. They cover composition, exposure, and people photography. It's been a while since I read them, so I don't have an extended review for them. However the first two I read were good enough that I went out looking for the third -- on a subject (people photography) which is not my interest.