Y Hacker News Books

Alan Kay's answer to ‘what are some forgotten books programmers should read?’ ↗

The books people recommended

2019-08-09 · 1,181 points · 260 comments · 32 books named by at least one person here and at least 3 people overall. The number on the left is how many people named it in this thread.

  1. 14

    Gödel, Escher, Bach

    Douglas Hofstadter

    14 here · 347 all-time · #1 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.7 out of 5, 2,713 ratings on Amazon
  2. 10

    Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs

    Harold Abelson

    10 here · 316 all-time · #2 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.7 out of 5, 742 ratings on Amazon
  3. 7

    The Mythical Man-Month

    Frederick Brooks Jr.

    7 here · 137 all-time · #13 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.5 out of 5, 1,811 ratings on Amazon
  4. 5Computation

    Computation

    Marvin Minsky

    5 here · 7 all-time · #1038 overall

  5. 3

    I Am a Strange Loop

    Douglas Hofstadter

    3 here · 33 all-time · #159 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.4 out of 5, 1,069 ratings on Amazon
  6. 2

    The Design of Everyday Things

    Don Norman

    2 here · 95 all-time · #33 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 8,629 ratings on Amazon
  7. 2Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution

    Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution

    Steven Levy

    2 here · 39 all-time · #123 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.5 out of 5, 836 ratings on Amazon
  8. 2TCP/IP Illustrated

    TCP/IP Illustrated

    W. Richard Stevens

    2 here · 20 all-time · #320 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 321 ratings on Amazon
  9. 2The Mind's I

    The Mind's I

    Douglas Hofstadter, Daniel Dennett

    2 here · 12 all-time · #525 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.4 out of 5, 157 ratings on Amazon
  10. 2Let Over Lambda

    Let Over Lambda

    Doug Hoyte

    2 here · 11 all-time · #592 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.5 out of 5, 68 ratings on Amazon
  11. 2Starting Forth

    Starting Forth

    Leo Brodie

    2 here · 5 all-time · #1364 overall

  12. 1

    The Pragmatic Programmer

    Andrew Hunt and David Thomas

    1 here · 102 all-time · #26 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.8 out of 5, 3,644 ratings on Amazon
  13. 1

    Infinite Jest

    David Foster Wallace

    1 here · 75 all-time · #44 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.4 out of 5, 6,443 ratings on Amazon
  14. 1The Goal

    The Goal

    Eliyahu M. Goldratt

    1 here · 70 all-time · #49 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 4,661 ratings on Amazon
  15. 1

    The Phoenix Project

    Gene Kim, Kevin Behr, George Spafford

    1 here · 67 all-time · #56 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 14,975 ratings on Amazon
  16. 1

    Thinking in Systems

    Donella H. Meadows

    1 here · 55 all-time · #72 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 6,475 ratings on Amazon
  17. 1

    Programming Pearls

    Jon Bentley

    1 here · 35 all-time · #145 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.4 out of 5, 402 ratings on Amazon
  18. 1

    Don't Make Me Think

    Steve Krug

    1 here · 35 all-time · #149 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 4,670 ratings on Amazon
  19. 1

    JavaScript: The Good Parts

    Douglas Crockford

    1 here · 28 all-time · #206 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.4 out of 5, 1,478 ratings on Amazon
  20. 1The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

    The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

    Benjamin Franklin

    1 here · 17 all-time · #366 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.3 out of 5, 11,110 ratings on Amazon
  21. 1Thinking Forth

    Thinking Forth

    Leo Brodie

    1 here · 15 all-time · #430 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.8 out of 5, 35 ratings on Amazon
  22. 1Road to Reality

    Road to Reality

    Roger Penrose

    1 here · 14 all-time · #462 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 1,265 ratings on Amazon
  23. 1Inspired

    Inspired

    Marty Cagan

    1 here · 13 all-time · #478 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 6,322 ratings on Amazon
  24. 1Abstract Algebra

    Abstract Algebra

    Dummit and Foote

    1 here · 13 all-time · #498 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 258 ratings on Amazon
  25. 1Metamagical Themas

    Metamagical Themas

    Douglas Hofstadter

    1 here · 12 all-time · #518 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.5 out of 5, 119 ratings on Amazon
  26. 1On Lisp

    On Lisp

    Paul Graham

    1 here · 7 all-time · #906 overall

  27. 1Le Ton Beau de Marot

    Le Ton Beau de Marot

    Douglas Hofstadter

    1 here · 7 all-time · #908 overall

  28. 1Badass: Making Users Awesome

    Badass: Making Users Awesome

    Kathy Sierra

    1 here · 5 all-time · #1236 overall

  29. 1Algorithmics

    Algorithmics

    David Harel

    1 here · 4 all-time · #1757 overall

  30. 1Universal Principles of Design

    Universal Principles of Design

    William Lidwell

    1 here · 4 all-time · #1844 overall

  31. 1Threaded Interpretive Languages

    Threaded Interpretive Languages

    Mark Loeliger

    1 here · 3 all-time · #2328 overall

  32. 1Assembly Language Step-by-Step

    Assembly Language Step-by-Step

    Jeff Duntemann

    1 here · 3 all-time · #2340 overall