Ask YC: What would you put on a hacker's bookshelf?
46 comments
Hmmm, here's a list of books I really like:
Memory as a Programming Concept in C and C++ by Frenck
The Design and Implementation of the FreeBSD Operating System by McKusick/Neville-Neil
Learning GNU Emacs by Cameron, et al.
Practical Common Lisp by Seibel
The C Programming Language by K&R
The C++ Programming Language Stroustrup
The Design and Analysis of Algorithms by Leviten
Assembly Language Programming for the IBM PC Family by Jones
Essays/Collections:
Hackers & Painters by PG
Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman by Feynman
What Do You Care What Other People Think by Feynman
The Cathedral & The Bazaar by Raymond
Novels:
The Soul of a New Machine by Kidder
Where Wizards Stay up Late by Hafner
Memory as a Programming Concept in C and C++ by Frenck
The Design and Implementation of the FreeBSD Operating System by McKusick/Neville-Neil
Learning GNU Emacs by Cameron, et al.
Practical Common Lisp by Seibel
The C Programming Language by K&R
The C++ Programming Language Stroustrup
The Design and Analysis of Algorithms by Leviten
Assembly Language Programming for the IBM PC Family by Jones
Essays/Collections:
Hackers & Painters by PG
Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman by Feynman
What Do You Care What Other People Think by Feynman
The Cathedral & The Bazaar by Raymond
Novels:
The Soul of a New Machine by Kidder
Where Wizards Stay up Late by Hafner
Another vote for "Surely You're Joking Mr.Feynman" by Feynman
Harry Potter, Goosebumps, choose your own adventure stories...
Oh, wait, I have to look like I'm really smart. Um, Knuth.
Oh, wait, I have to look like I'm really smart. Um, Knuth.
The Feynman Lectures on Physics
The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
A Latin/English dictionary for new company names
The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
A Latin/English dictionary for new company names
Made to Stick
I've won several marketing competitions, an elevator pitch contest, and made countless connections with others, using ideas from this book.
I've won several marketing competitions, an elevator pitch contest, and made countless connections with others, using ideas from this book.
"Lord of the Rings" and "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", because seriously... you need to read something fun every once in a while.
Make friends and influence people -- will help you understand why people react as strange as they do.
I skimmed that book and it all seemed to boil down to "be nice". Am I the only one who finds that ironic?
One of the most interesting parts of the book is that it claims you should "never criticize" another person. It says that every person can always justify their actions in their own mind and all criticism is taken negatively. As an example, even mass murderers have been interviewed justifying their actions. I tend to agree with this philosophy.
More specific than that: see things from the other person's point of view.
I'd summurise as "Trust. Be friendly. Take genuine concern for your clients point of view." These are pre-requisites for "win-win" situations.
I haven't read the whole thing, but another major point in the book is to subtly mimic the other person's body language.
[deleted]
Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War (for thoughts on competition)
Managing Gigabytes (if you are doing anything related to search)
Writing Solid Code (especially if you are using C/C++)
Most of the research papers that come out of OSDI/SOSP: Dynamo, BigTable, Sawzall, GFS, Chubby, etc
Managing Gigabytes (if you are doing anything related to search)
Writing Solid Code (especially if you are using C/C++)
Most of the research papers that come out of OSDI/SOSP: Dynamo, BigTable, Sawzall, GFS, Chubby, etc
I second the Boyd suggestion. One of the best books I've ever read.
Code by Charles Petzold is an awesome hacking book. It takes you from flipping a light switch, thru simple circuits up to assembly language. It's beautiful!
It really depends what sort of hacker they are. There's a sort of hacker you buy a copy of "Pro JavaScript Techniques" for, a sort you buy the Dragon Book for, and another sort who you give a copy of TAOCP.
I'm surprised no one mentioned SICP.
I would also add:
I would also add:
- The Little Schemer
- Linux in a Nutshell
- Unix power toolsThe Design of Everyday Things - Don Norman
I know he's gotten some flak lately for ripping on 37signals, but this book seriously changed how I look at the world... especially doors.
Freakonomics - Steven Levitt
Good for understanding the value of taking another perspective.
I know he's gotten some flak lately for ripping on 37signals, but this book seriously changed how I look at the world... especially doors.
Freakonomics - Steven Levitt
Good for understanding the value of taking another perspective.
"Becoming a Technical Leader" by Gerald Weinberg
Unconventional perspective on management
"How Buildings Learn" by Stewart Brand
One of the best books about designing long-term architectures. Excellent coffee table book
"Envisioning Information" by Edward Tufte
"Walt Disney" by Neal Gabler
Excellent biography of maybe the greatest imagineer ever
"The Art of Software Testing" by Glenford J. Myers
~100 page classic. The central premise is that the successful test is one that finds bugs/issues not one that doesn't.
Unconventional perspective on management
"How Buildings Learn" by Stewart Brand
One of the best books about designing long-term architectures. Excellent coffee table book
"Envisioning Information" by Edward Tufte
"Walt Disney" by Neal Gabler
Excellent biography of maybe the greatest imagineer ever
"The Art of Software Testing" by Glenford J. Myers
~100 page classic. The central premise is that the successful test is one that finds bugs/issues not one that doesn't.
- Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson
- Copywriting (Teach Yourself series), by J. Jonathan Gabay
- The Paradox of Choice, by Barry Schwartz
- Copywriting (Teach Yourself series), by J. Jonathan Gabay
- The Paradox of Choice, by Barry Schwartz
Schwartz gave a Google talk on the book:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6127548813950043200
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6127548813950043200
Introduction to Algorithms - Cormen/Leiserson/Rivest/Stein (CLRS)
But if you're old school, you'll have already had the old version (CLR) on your bookshelf collecting dust. ;)
Principia Discordia; or How I Found Goddess and What I Did to Her When I Found Her
Upcoming:
"High Performance MySQL" (O'Reilly) (New Edition)
"Advanced PHP Programming: Developing Large-scale Web Applications With PHP 5" (Developer's Library) by George Schlossnagle
Released:
"Building Scalable Websites" (O'Reilly) by Cal Henderson
"Scalable Internet Architectures" (Developer's Library) by Theo Schlossnagle
"High Performance MySQL" (O'Reilly) (New Edition)
"Advanced PHP Programming: Developing Large-scale Web Applications With PHP 5" (Developer's Library) by George Schlossnagle
Released:
"Building Scalable Websites" (O'Reilly) by Cal Henderson
"Scalable Internet Architectures" (Developer's Library) by Theo Schlossnagle
"First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently". I know it has a cheap title but it there is plenty of merit in it. The Gallup organization carried out a massive survey of various business units in an attempt to discover commonalities between the successful units. The results showed that there are essentially 12 things that must be true about a unit in order for it to be successful.
Its a fun read if nothing else. It contains a lot of counter convention logic that would be right at home in one of PG's essays.
Its a fun read if nothing else. It contains a lot of counter convention logic that would be right at home in one of PG's essays.
Founders at Work by Jessica Livingston
Hackers and Painters by Paul Graham
I am NOT recommending these because I am an avid hacker.news participant.
I became an avid hacker.news participant AFTER reading these books.
Hackers and Painters by Paul Graham
I am NOT recommending these because I am an avid hacker.news participant.
I became an avid hacker.news participant AFTER reading these books.
* "Applied Cryptography" by Bruce Schneier. The first chapters are a great introduction to cryptography, but I found the few following chapters presenting cryptographic protocols mind-blowing. Some of them are so simple yet very clever.
* Political economy essays by Frédéric Bastiat ( http://bastiat.org ) were truly enlightening for me.
* Political economy essays by Frédéric Bastiat ( http://bastiat.org ) were truly enlightening for me.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3087/2325563013_d62ca9cde5.jp...
I'm a fan of "The Pragmatic Programmer".
Other books I thought were a good read: getting things done, 4 hour work week, and founders at work.
I've also got all 6 seasons of 24 on my bookshelf =/, probably not the most productive times of my life.
I'm a fan of "The Pragmatic Programmer".
Other books I thought were a good read: getting things done, 4 hour work week, and founders at work.
I've also got all 6 seasons of 24 on my bookshelf =/, probably not the most productive times of my life.
Ha ha, finally a 24 fan! Yeah I have all the 6 seasons with me too :).
Some plants for better air quality.
- New Hacker's Dictionary (print version is nice for browsing)
- The Little Schemer (or the whole series, if you really like them)
- The Art of Computer Programming
- The Little Schemer (or the whole series, if you really like them)
- The Art of Computer Programming
I haven't gotten through all of it, but I really like the New Turing Omnibus, by A.K. Dewdney. It's about computer science, not how to program, so it would be interesting to non-hackers, too. Even if you are familiar with all of its topics, it can serve as a reference and clarifying tool for CS concepts.
Wow, surprised nobody mentioned this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Hofstadter#Books
GEB.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Hofstadter#Books
Getting Real (37 Signals)
Programming Ruby (Pragmatic Programmers)
Agile Web Development with Rails (Pragmatic Programmers)
Javascript: The Definitive Guide (O'Reilly)
a good text on database design & normalization, performance issues, and SQL
something to teach *nix basics, which I don't have but could have used
Programming Ruby (Pragmatic Programmers)
Agile Web Development with Rails (Pragmatic Programmers)
Javascript: The Definitive Guide (O'Reilly)
a good text on database design & normalization, performance issues, and SQL
something to teach *nix basics, which I don't have but could have used
Off the top of my head:
- Soul of a New Machine
- The Cuckoo's Egg
- Revolution in the Valley
- Fire in the Valley
- Compilers by Sethi, Ullman, Aho
- Masters of Doom
- iWoz
- Steve Jobs & the NeXT Big Thing
- Crypto
- Code
- The Man Who Loved Only Numbers
- The Man Who Knew Infinity
- ANSI Common LISP
Most of the books above are recommended because once reading them you will have an uncontrollable urge to immediately create something brilliant. You will not be able to stop yourself.
-m
- Soul of a New Machine
- The Cuckoo's Egg
- Revolution in the Valley
- Fire in the Valley
- Compilers by Sethi, Ullman, Aho
- Masters of Doom
- iWoz
- Steve Jobs & the NeXT Big Thing
- Crypto
- Code
- The Man Who Loved Only Numbers
- The Man Who Knew Infinity
- ANSI Common LISP
Most of the books above are recommended because once reading them you will have an uncontrollable urge to immediately create something brilliant. You will not be able to stop yourself.
-m
Getting Things Done, by David Allen
anything by Edward Tufte
The Singularity Is Near, by Ray Kurzweil
Dip, by Seth Godin
anything by Edward Tufte
The Singularity Is Near, by Ray Kurzweil
Dip, by Seth Godin
Paradigms of Artificial Intelligence Programming: Case Studies in Common Lisp by Peter Norvig
(an excellent book even if you don't want to become a Lisp programmer)
(an excellent book even if you don't want to become a Lisp programmer)
-Showstopper by G. Pascal Zachary
-The Design of Everyday Things by Donald Norman
-UNIX in a Nutshell (O'Reilly book written by Arnold Robbins)
-The Design of Everyday Things by Donald Norman
-UNIX in a Nutshell (O'Reilly book written by Arnold Robbins)
DeMarco & Lister (yes, the Peopleware guys) - Waltzing With Bears: Managing Risk on Software Projects
Programmers at Work, by Susan Lammers.
It opened up many many ideas to me, including flying, writing software for people, why simple software is harder to write than complicated software, and gave me some indication of what 'being smart' really means.
I really highly recommend this book.
It opened up many many ideas to me, including flying, writing software for people, why simple software is harder to write than complicated software, and gave me some indication of what 'being smart' really means.
I really highly recommend this book.
designing the obvious - a common sense approach to web application design by Robert Hoekman Jr
The New New Thing
Masters of Doom (story of id software, great story)
Smart Start-ups: How Entrepreneurs and Corporations Can Profit by Starting Online Communities
steven levy's Hackers and crypto also for the history.
The New New Thing
Masters of Doom (story of id software, great story)
Smart Start-ups: How Entrepreneurs and Corporations Can Profit by Starting Online Communities
steven levy's Hackers and crypto also for the history.
I love Designing the Obvious - it's a great book on interface design and usability, and focuses on web applications. Very relevant to this community.
Peopleware by Tom DeMarco and Timothy Lister
Build to Last by James C. Collins , Jerry I. Porras
Build to Last by James C. Collins , Jerry I. Porras
I've not read Peopleware but I've read Why Does Software Cost So Much? by Tom DeMarco and Slack by Tom DeMarco. The former focuses on technical issues and the sunken cost of software. The latter focuses on the agility of organisations. Tom DeMarco started as a programmer and subsequently became a consultant increasingly focusing less on technical issues and more on business issues. Therefore, reading his books in order would be most relevant as your start-up develops.
Steve McConnell's Code Complete (2nd Ed is the copy I have) -- it seems like every second page I've read lays to rest some tiny unanswered question I've had in the back of my head since I started programming.
Of course there is: http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/FogCreekMBACurriculum...
Recommended:
* Everyware: Dawning of the age of ubiquitous computing
* Never Eat Alone
A few biographies of people you admire too. My favourite is "Buckminster Fuller's Universe".
Has anyone got a recommendation for a good biography on Walt Disney?
* Everyware: Dawning of the age of ubiquitous computing
* Never Eat Alone
A few biographies of people you admire too. My favourite is "Buckminster Fuller's Universe".
Has anyone got a recommendation for a good biography on Walt Disney?
I would add "Getting Real" by 37Signals, for starters.
It's not bad, but it's free on the web. And in terms of "getting real", they could stand to make a real book out of it by getting an ISBN number for it with all the money they made off of people throwing their money at them.
And of course I'll add the obligatory mention of Squeezed Books, which is more or less based on business books I've bought and enjoyed (although there are also others like Good to Great that I wouldn't recommend).
And of course I'll add the obligatory mention of Squeezed Books, which is more or less based on business books I've bought and enjoyed (although there are also others like Good to Great that I wouldn't recommend).
O' Reilly's "Dynamic HTML" is probably my most well-used book.
The 4-Hour Work Week
Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson.
Drive it Forever by Robert Sikorsky.
Drive it Forever by Robert Sikorsky.
SNOWCRASH for heavens sake.
what's a 'book'?
An early form of web site where all pages were static, and hyperlinks had to be operated manually.
The Fabric of Reality - David Deutsch
Godel, Escher, Bach - Douglas Hoftstadter
Karl Popper's books (too many to list)
The Fountainhead - Ayn Rand
Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand
Godel, Escher, Bach - Douglas Hoftstadter
Karl Popper's books (too many to list)
The Fountainhead - Ayn Rand
Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand
I would just put a thumb drive and a sticky that says isohunt.com
Call me old fashioned but I like my dead-tree products, it's an entirely different feeling to read a physical book than a PDF.
Although I usually have soft copies of all my favorite books, so I can search them quickly.
Although I usually have soft copies of all my favorite books, so I can search them quickly.
- O'Reilly's Python in a Nutshell
- A 12" PB (I use my old PB as a more capable "kimble" and for quick SSHing into my servers)
- And to preempt the half-dozen comments suggesting them: Founders at Work & Hackers and Painters