Home — Collections — Best Computer Science Books – Into the Software and Beyond
Best Computer Science Books – Into the Software and Beyond
Table of Contents
Computer science has played a significant role in shaping the world, and the ways that it will carve out the future’s path can only be imagined. Learning more about computer science and all that is possible in this unique industry is a great way to be inspired, encouraged, and educated.
My knowledge of all things computer science is mostly self-taught, and I still consider myself a beginner in this part of the world. But today’s list of books isn’t just for beginners like me or even just for those who want to pursue computer science in their careers.
There are a lot of lessons that everyone can learn from computer science, and this list of the best books for computer science can help spread that knowledge. The kind of knowledge that matters more than most people realize, and it’s worth the time to read a few books on the subject.
So, why is computer science worth your time? The fact of the matter is that computer science affects every single person who reads this page. In turn, it also affects every single industry related to it.
How is that possible? Generally speaking, computer science is the study of how computers work. This all-encompassing field covers both the technological, engineering, and societal branches of the computer’s effects.
Even if you’re not into the programming of the nitty-gritty details of how a computer functions technologically, the ethics of computers, the ways technology affects our lives, and other important factors of computer science are interesting ideas to explore and encounter through different perspectives.
This book list was created through the recommendations of some of the experts in the field. Through surveys and interviews, the most important works about computer science have been gathered together into your new reading list.
Best Computer Science Books
Algorithms to Live By: The Computer Science of Human Decisions
Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs
If my career path is hackers turned business people, I’d say:
Start with the basics and fundamentals:
- SICP: Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs
- Code Complete 2
Code Complete: A Practical Handbook of Software Construction
If my career path is hackers turned business people, I’d say:
Start with the basics and fundamentals:
- SICP: Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs
- Code Complete 2
Possible Minds: Twenty-Five Ways of Looking at AI
A Human’s Guide to Machine Intelligence: How Algorithms Are Shaping Our Lives and How We Can Stay in Control
Coders: The Making of a New Tribe and the Remaking of the World
The Simulation Hypothesis: An MIT Computer Scientist Shows Why AI, Quantum Physics and Eastern Mystics All Agree We Are In a Video Game
Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies: A Comprehensive Introduction
- The Three-Body Problem (Remembrance of Earth's Past) by Cixin Liu
- The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts by Gary Chapman
- Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies by Arvind Narayanan, Joseph Bonneau, Edward Felten, Andrew Miller, Steven Goldfeder
Microserfs
On Intelligence: How a New Understanding of the Brain Will Lead to the Creation of Truly Intelligent Machines
The Sentient Machine: The Coming Age of Artificial Intelligence
Your Life, Uploaded: The Digital Way to Better Memory, Health, and Productivity
Invariances: The Structure of the Objective World
Philosophy has been under severe challenge from science, literally eating up its provinces: philosophy of mind went to neuroscience; philosophy of language to Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science,etc. This book shows that there is a need for someone to just specialize in the TRUTH, its scructure, its accessibility, its INVARIANCE.
Aside from the purely philosophical answers that scientists were grappling with, the book is like a manual for a new regimen in philosophy. It reviews everything from epistemology to the logic of contingency, with insights here and there about such topics as the observer biases (about computing probabilities when our existence has been linked to a particular realization of the process).
I am not a philosopher but a probabilist; I found that this book just spoke to me. It certainly rid me of my prejudice against modern philosophers.
Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World
The unassuming Georgetown computer science professor has become one of this generation’s leading voices on how we can all work more wisely and more deeply. With media consumption continuing to go way up (which, for most of us, means happiness and productivity continue to go way down) and the world becoming noisier every day, this book is an urgent call to action for anyone serious about being in command of their own life. The minimalism movement successfully led millions to opt out of the many possessions we’re told we’re supposed to crave and focus instead on the small number of things that bring the most meaning and value to our lives. The same ideology applies to our online lives. Digital clutter is stressful. We don’t need the constant connectivity, the pages and pages of apps, the incessant scrolling and clicking. New technologies can improve our lives if we know how to best leverage them. This book already helped me break my Facebook addiction—and the first month of the year has been a big improvement for me because of that.
Bend, Not Break: A Life in Two Worlds
Off the Clock: Feel Less Busy While Getting More Done
The Last Lecture
What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions
So Good They Can’t Ignore You
Founders At Work: Stories of Startups’ Early Days
Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration
This book is written by the founder of Pixar and is about his experience building a culture that fosters creativity.
His theory is that people are fundamentally creative, but many forces stand in the way of people being able to do their best work.
I love reading first-hand accounts about how people build great companies like Pixar and nurture innovation and creativity. This should be inspiring to anyone looking to do the same, and hopefully there will be lessons we can apply to connecting the world!
Darwin Among The Machines: The Evolution Of Global Intelligence
The Future of the Mind: The Scientific Quest to Understand, Enhance, and Empower the Mind
Army of None: Autonomous Weapons and the Future of War
The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains
Thing Explainer: Complicated Stuff in Simple Words
How We Got to Now: Six Innovations That Made the Modern World
The Innovator’s Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail
It's important that we make this transformation, because of what Clayton Christensen calls "the innovator's dilemma," where people who invent something are usually the last ones to see past it, and we certainly don't want to be left behind.