

Ask HN: What's an inspirational pop book about Computer Science? - pgbovine

A friend of mine just asked me: There are many popular non-fiction books addressing the harmony/beauty/philosophy of physics that really stir up the curiosity and imagination of readers.  What's the best example of such a book for Computer Science?<p>My friend is looking for a popular book on computer science that:<p>+ is understandable by a freshman.<p>+ shows the beauty of computer science.<p>+ gives an overview of main streams in computer science research and applications.<p>+ gives some visions, e.g. imaginative perspectives and/or philosophical thoughts, on computer science in the future.
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wyclif
Clifford Stoll's _The Cuckoo's Egg_ comes immediately to mind.

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mindcrime
I don't necessarily know of any one book that meets all of your friends
requirements, but...

Tracy Kidder's _The Soul of a New Machine_ might be good for your friend.

[http://www.amazon.com/Soul-New-Machine-Tracy-
Kidder/dp/03164...](http://www.amazon.com/Soul-New-Machine-Tracy-
Kidder/dp/0316491977)

Another good option might be _Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware
and Software_ by Charles Petzold.

[http://www.amazon.com/Code-Language-Computer-Hardware-
Softwa...](http://www.amazon.com/Code-Language-Computer-Hardware-
Software/dp/0735611319/ref=pd_sim_b_6)

Or, how about _Coders at Work_?

[http://www.amazon.com/Coders-Work-Reflections-Craft-
Programm...](http://www.amazon.com/Coders-Work-Reflections-Craft-
Programming/dp/1430219483/ref=pd_sim_b_3)

Another one that I have (but haven't had time to read yet) is _Dreaming in
Code: Two Dozen Programmers, Three Years, 4,732 Bugs, and One Quest for
Transcendent Software_ by Scott Rosenberg. It _might_ have something that your
friend would find interesting.

[http://www.amazon.com/Dreaming-Code-Programmers-
Transcendent...](http://www.amazon.com/Dreaming-Code-Programmers-Transcendent-
Software/dp/1400082471/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_a)

Another one that may be inspirational, although it's more about personalities
than computer science per-se, would be Steven Levy's _Hackers: Heroes of the
Computer Revolution._

[http://www.amazon.com/Hackers-Computer-Revolution-Steven-
Lev...](http://www.amazon.com/Hackers-Computer-Revolution-Steven-
Levy/dp/0141000511/ref=pd_sim_b_36)

~~~
pgbovine
thanks for the references! i really appreciate you taking the time to reply to
my question.

btw "Dreaming in Code" is the only one of those that I've read, and I don't
think it's a good fit for my friend because it's basically the story of
software project management gone awry ... hardly inspirational for someone
aspiring to learn about the beauty of CS :)

