Mental Ray Render and Arch design books?

[Ro-Sham-Bo]

Hey guys i just got a new job for this company rendering out their high end out door structures, and was wondering what you guys feel is the best book or video series out there to learn mental ray rendering to its full potential and also anything on using the arch and design materials more. thanks!!!

[Sandro]

http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/store/category/205/Jeff-Patton

[Zpanzer]

Mental ray aye? Interresting, most(including my own job) uses V-ray.. Althou, they're pretty identical.

I can recommend "Essential CG Lighting Techniques" by Darren Brooker:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Essential-Lighting-Techniques-Autodesk-Entertainment/dp/024052117X/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1268518574&sr=8-10
It will cover all the basic stuff you need to now about lighting.

Since im a vray guy myself, I can't personally recommend any mental-ray books, but I have some friends that said they liked "Rendering with Mental Ray & 3DS Max" by Joep van der Steen & Ted Boardman:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rendering-mental-Autodesk-Entertainment-Techniques/dp/0240812379/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1268518728&sr=1-1

They also talked good about "Realistic Architectural Visualization with 3Ds Max and Mental Ray":
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Realistic-Architectural-Visualization-Entertainment-Techniques/dp/0240812298/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1268518728&sr=1-3