opengl books

what do the gurus recommend when coming to books? i am a beginner but dont mind spending days trying to understand something, so i dont really want something thats gonna hold my hadn all the time…a book that would server gurus and beginners like me(who dont mind deciphering )would be awesome…
i hear from some that a good book should use glut, and the opposite from others…whats the deal?
anyways, thank you for any good recommendations

disclaimer : I don’t consider myself being a guru

IMO, the Red Book (aka The OpenGL Programming Guide) is the best thing to learn OpenGL the right way. Even if it is a bit dated (latest is Third Edition, which covers OpenGL 1.2), it has all the fundamental concepts of OpenGL well detailed. (Note that additionnal functionnality in OpenGL 1.3 & 1.4 is somewhat advanced, and by the time you reach these topics, you will be able to go through the official OpenGL spec, which is better source than any book (even if it is not pleasant to read)).

Other people sometimes recommend The OpenGL Superbible. I have both the Red Book & the Superbible. I must say I hardly opened the Superbible, because I started with the Red Book and got all the information I needed from it.

These 2 books assume that you have some basic knowledge in computer graphics (it won’t explain you over 10 pages what a pixel is, or how to rotate a cube). If you are a beginner in computer graphics, more general books (vs OpenGL-oriented books) may be better.

And to complete your learning program : don’t miss NeHe’s website : it is the reference website for beginer to mid level OpenGL programming tutorials. http://nehe.gamedev.net
It is very good to get started quickly.A book is likely to give you more in-depth information, though.