Recently I decided that I really wanted to delve into 3D with XNA, so I started looking for reading material on the subject.  There are a number of good XNA books out there now, but I've had trouble following many of them when trying to work with 3D graphics because they jump right in and start talking about Quaternions and such before giving a good introduction to the concepts involved.  (Maybe I'm just dense, but the whole 3D math thing has always made my head hurt).

 

Not so with Learning XNA 3.0 by Aaron Reed.  The author teaches game programming using XNA, and the book itself is set up much like a class you would take to learn how to develop games using XNA.  There is a measured, built up approach to the concepts that I found very easy to follow while demystifying the arcana of 3D graphics programming.

 

The book starts out covering the basics of 2D rendering with SpriteBatch (ok, I'll admit I skipped those chapters) and then moves on to develop a 3D game throughout most of the chapters.  The game includes moving 3D models, a 3D camera, particle explosions, sound effects and music, and combining 3D with 2D overlays and text display.

 

Overall, I found the book to be a great introduction to 3D game programming.  So much so that I have started reworking a certain 2D game that appears as a 12 part tutorial on this site in to a 3D game, using 3D models for the objects and particles for the special effects.  If you are looking to get your feet wet with 3D graphics in XNA, Learning XNA 3.0 is a great place to start.