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50 Books Every Geek Should Read

50 Books Every Geek Should Read

Eric Dahl / InsideTech

Ever find out one of your friends hasn’t read “Neuromancer” or doesn’t know what a Babelfish is or why it’s important to keep a towel handy at all times? Did you have that brief moment where you thought, “Man, it’s like I don’t even know you?”

If you’re gonna work in tech, write code, or just spend way too much time on Engadget, Lifehacker, and BoingBoing, there’s a certain amount of reading that goes with the territory. And I’m not just talking about O’Reilly books here. Discovering “Snow Crash” or geeking out on crypto history teaches us part of the language we all share in tech. (Plus, it’s just really fun.)

From classic sci-fi to programming bibles and productivity hacks, we’ve collected the best of the best. See how many of the 50 Books Every Geek Should Read you’ve polished off, or pick your favorite category and start working your way through the rest. And be sure to let us know if we’ve missed any.

Sci-Fi Classics 1, 2, 3

Biographies

Design

Tech History 1, 2

Crypto

Software Development

Tech Philosophy 1, 2

How STUFF Works

Productivity

Online Reading


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  • Photo_user_banned_big

    yoddel19

    13 days ago

    896 comments

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  • Photo_user_blank_big

    Modern_Realist

    about 1 month ago

    2 comments

    Eckhart Tolle would be more use to the modern techie than the Bible. But, as with all modern communities, that is my opinion. Tolle just offers the same references for a more modern and appropriate world. Live peace, open your mind, love those you can, and help those you can't.

    Now, back to the geekery!!

  • Photo_user_blank_big

    jettfree

    about 1 month ago

    20 comments

    Don't forget the most important book of all... the HOLY BIBLE. Whether you agree with the contents or not, it's a definite must-read.

  • Auron_icon_max50

    j_lavalley

    about 1 month ago

    2 comments

    Great list, but unfortunately the organization ~ in particular, all the (too!) many subdivisions ~ really impairs, in my view, its "drawing power." (I mean, were 15 separate pages really necessary?) Anyway, it is a very good list IMO. Thanks for creating & sharing it!

  • Hpim0155_max50

    checkel

    about 1 month ago

    82 comments

    tetsu yanu "the paper spaceship", it's part of a short story collection of japanese sci-fi.
    also missed but almost required for understanding some of the banter bandied about- STAR TREK & I don't mean just cursory glance- read up on what he based those aliens on.
    also missed- The Art Of War. tactics are a must!
    a fun easy read- dresdin files, by jim butcher
    also- if you can find any of the old sci-fi pulps with short stories, those are THE BEST.

  • Photo_user_blank_big

    Gairm

    2 months ago

    2 comments

    If you don't want to click through all the pages, here is the list:
    “Snow Crash,” Neal Stephenson
    “Neuromancer,” William Gibson
    “I, Robot,” Isaac Asimov
    “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” Douglas Adams
    “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” Philip K. Dick
    “Ender’s Game,” Orson Scott Card
    “The Time Machine,” H.G. Wells
    “Microserfs,” Doug Coupland
    “Flatland,” Edwin A. Abbott
    “1984,” George Orwell
    “Brave New World,” Aldous Huxley
    “iCon,” Jeffrey S. Young and William L. Simon
    “iWoz,” Steve Wozniak and Gina Smith
    “Hard Drive: Bill Gates and the Making of the Microsoft Empire,” Jim Erickson
    “The Visual Display of Quantitative Information,” Edward Tufte
    “Don’t Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability,” Steve Krug
    “The Non-Designer’s Design Book,” Robin Williams
    “Tog on Interface,” Bruce Tognazzini
    “User Interface Design for Programmers,” Joel Spolsky
    “Revolution in The Valley: The Insanely Great Story of How the Mac Was Made,” Andy Hertzfeld
    “The Soul of a New Machine,” Tracy Kidder
    “Where Wizards Stay Up Late,” Hafner and Lyon
    “Dealers of Lightning: Xerox PARC and the Dawn of the Computer Age,” Michael A. Hiltzik
    “The Cuckoo’s Egg,” Cliff Stoll
    “The Perfect Thing: How the iPod Shuffles Commerce, Culture, and Coolness,” Steven Levy
    “Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time,” Dava Sobel
    “The Code Book,” Simon Singh
    “Cryptonomicon,” Neal Stephenson
    “Crypto,” Steven Levy
    “The Pragmatic Programmer: From Journeyman to Master,” Andrew Hunt, David Thomas
    “Code Complete: A Practical Handbook of Software Construction,” Steve McConnell
    “Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software,” Erich Gamma, Richard Helm, Ralph Johnson, John M. Vlissides
    “Dreaming in Code,” Scott Rosenberg
    “The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering,” Frederick P. Brooks
    “Beautiful Code: Leading Programmers Explain How They Think,” Andy Oram
    “Cathedral and the Bazaar,” Eric S. Raymond
    “The Long Tail,” Chris Anderson
    “The Future of Ideas,” Lawrence Lessig
    “On Intelligence,” Jeff Hawkins
    “In the Beginning was the Command Line,” Neal Stephenson
    “Code: Version 2.0,” Lawrence Lessig
    “The Wisdom of Crowds,” James Surowiecki
    “The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology,” Ray Kurzweil
    “Gödel, Escher, Bach,” Douglas Hofstadter
    “Gut Feelings,” Gerd Gigerenzer
    “A Brief History of Time,” Stephen Hawking
    “Hackers and Painters: Big Ideas from the Computer Age,” Paul Graham
    “The Evolution of Useful Things,” Henry Petroski
    “Getting Things Done,” David Allen
    “Upgrade Your Life: The Lifehacker Guide to Working Smarter, Faster, Better,” Gina Trapani

  • Photo_user_blank_big

    trmsd

    2 months ago

    2 comments

    I counted 48. "Gut Feelings," Gerd Gigerenzer was also missing. But thank you for the list Gairm.

  • Photo_user_blank_big

    nasyr

    2 months ago

    2 comments

    Gairm forget "Code Version 2.0" by Lawrence Lessig. I copied his list into Word and I'm glad I decided to count the number of books. Turns out he missed one. This reminds me whenerver someone gives you a list of something important, what good is it when it might contain errors? So you might as well make the list yourself, again only on really important things.

  • Nx-011_max50

    progan01

    2 months ago

    4 comments

    Bruce Sterling's "The Hacker Crackdown" needs to be included. Sterling's historical look at hacking (beginning with phone phreaking, which dates from 1876, if you can believe that) examines the peculiar dance between authority, ability, and what is perceived as 'criminal' technological activity. Essential reading for anyone interested in security or what people think security ought to be. And you'll love the ending. Online at: http://www.mit.edu/hacker/hacker.html

  • Photo_user_blank_big

    thsclarinet10

    2 months ago

    18 comments

    The Code Book is really really really good!!

  • Photo_user_blank_big

    sbxt185

    3 months ago

    6 comments

    Nice List, I need to read up.

  • Ima42_max50

    mitchster

    3 months ago

    6 comments

    What an excellent list. Thank you. I scored pretty good too. Hmmm.
    Many of these classics can be had for free on the internet.
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  • Ca75_helena_max50

    usshelena

    4 months ago

    2 comments

    Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy is a must. Not a lot of useful, current techn advice but fun as hell!

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