

What is your favorite programming/computer-related book? - rhdoenges

I need a technical book to read. What do you suggest?
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dkersten
Seven Languages in Seven Weeks[1]

[1] [http://pragprog.com/book/btlang/seven-languages-in-seven-
wee...](http://pragprog.com/book/btlang/seven-languages-in-seven-weeks)

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arctangent
Good choice! I am hoping to get this for Christmas :-)

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DanBC
Computer related:

The Cuckoo's Egg, Clifford Stoll. A really nice description of his process to
understand the system, and why something was wrong, and the progress to
catching hackers.

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simon
If you want maximum inches of shelf space, then The Art of Computer
Programming by Knuth is your best bet.

Myself, I love slim books that are high density yet well written. The C
Programming Language by K& R and The AWK Programing Language by Aho,
Weinberger and Kernighan are good examples. These books are just a joy to
read.

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pettinato
The Visual Display of Quantitative Information by Edward R. Tufte.

If you ever need to give a presentation or write a report that uses any graphs
or charts, this book gives simple guidelines that makes the visual information
as clear as possible.

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alexholehouse
I received this as a gift literally yesterday (having asked for it). So far
very impressed.

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a_a_r_o_n
The Pragmatic Programmer: <http://pragprog.com/book/tpp/the-pragmatic-
programmer>

It talks about what to do, in your life as a programmer, and how to approach
it.

EDIT: [http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2004/10/a-pragmatic-
quick-r...](http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2004/10/a-pragmatic-quick-
reference.html)

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jim_lawless
"Hackers : Heroes of the Computer Revolution" (Steven Levy, first published in
1984 )

It's not really a programming book, mind you. It's a collection of stories
that shaped the evolution of early home computer hardware and software.

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enduser
Let Over Lambda, 50 Years of Lisp by Doug Hoyte

It is one of the most challenging and inspiring technical books I have ever
read, covering macros in great depth.

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MarlonPro
Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software

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thetabyte
Hackers & Painters, Paul Graham

Read it recently, now consider it required reading for hackers

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chmielewski
Newton's Telecom Dictionary

