Ask hackers: what books have you read lately and would recommend me?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=259907

by pkrumins • 18 years ago

11 20 18 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

Hackers, i just got an awesome book entitled "Founders at Work: Stories of Startups Early Days".

I'll soon be finished with it, can you recommend me (and us, other hackers) more?

Thanks!

CaptainMorgan• 18 years ago

Nothing startup related... but I just started reading Mastering Regular Expressions and am through the fourth chapter. It's such an amazing read and I'm punishing myself for never starting it earlier. For what the content is worth, the reading is not dry and makes the topic enjoyable.

You might want to read or reread Mythical Man Month, if you're looking for startup books. While not a startup book per se, its usefulness in the aspects of the programming environment is tenfold.

wheels• 18 years ago

Here we go again...

http://searchyc.com/books

http://www.google.com/search?&q=site%3Anews.ycombinator....

thinkcomp• 18 years ago

I'd recommend "The Cuckoo's Egg" by Cliff Stoll. And of course, "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman." And...

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=85840

rshao• 18 years ago

The Monk and the Riddle by Randy Komisar

I'd say it's a must read for any aspiring entrepreneur. It gives you a lot of perspective and a decent introductory exposure to the process.

sayhello• 18 years ago

Engineering your start-up, Swanson and Baird http://www.amazon.com/Engineering-Your-Start-Up-High-Tech-En...

Old school, published when 'startup' was still 2 words. Good book to read and provides a guide in many situations one may encounter in a startup.

fnazeeri• 18 years ago

Some of my favorite books:

- Moneyball. A really engaging story about how game changing startups can turn a centuries-old industry on it's head....er...it's actually about baseball, but the other part is true too.

- Crossing the Chasm. It's a roadmap for introducing a new product. Gives a framework for thinking about the "who" and "why" of a new market.

- Sales Learning Curve by Mark Leslie. It's actually not a book but rather a short paper. Shows how the sales learning curve is similar to the manufacturing learning curve.

- Extraordinary Popular Delusions & the Madness of Crowds. Why do otherwise intelligent individuals form seething masses of idiocy when they engage in collective action? Why do financially sensible people jump lemming-like into hare-brained speculative frenzies--only to jump broker-like out of windows when their fantasies dissolve? We may think that the Great Crash of 1929, junk bonds of the '80s, over-valued high-tech stocks of the '90s and real estate bubble of the past few years are peculiarly aberrations of our time, but Mackay's classic--first published in 1841--shows that the madness and confusion of crowds knows no limits.

- How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. The title pretty much says it all, huh? Oh, this book was first published in 1931...

- Hiring Smart. It's a book that takes about an hour to read and provides practical tips on how to interview someone (as opposed to the other way around).

- Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki. Good read with some nice tidbits (particularly on fundraising).

- Patton on Leadership (as in General George S. Patton). It's pretty cool...nothing too touchy-feely.

- Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Build Competitive Advantage

compay• 18 years ago

Javascript, The Good Parts.

One of the most clear, logical, well-written programming books I've ever read. Douglas Crockford covers more ground in 153 pages than I ever thought was possible in a tech book. An absolute gem.

http://oreilly.com/catalog/9780596517748/

abstractbill• 18 years ago

I just read Richard Branson's autobiography, Losing My Virginity, and thoroughly enjoyed it.

watmough• 18 years ago

I'm reading K&R 2nd ed and thoroughly enjoying it.

vitaminj• 18 years ago

I read Cormac McCarthy's The Road recently. I found it compelling and disturbing at the same time. Definitely recommend it.

lutorm• 18 years ago

Fooled by Randomness or The Black Swan, if you're interested in probability/statistics as it applies to describing our knowledge of the real world.

azharcs• 18 years ago

How about The Road Ahead - Bill Gates. I loved that book and saw a different personality to Bill Gates other than showed by Media and masses.

tjr• 18 years ago

Mr. Bunny's Big Cup O' Java

http://www.amazon.com/Mr-Bunnys-Big-OJava-Bunny/dp/020161563...

dan-kruchinin• 18 years ago

Knuth, "the art of computer programming"; Knuth, "Concrete mathematics"; "GEB (Gödel, Escher, Bach)"

knv• 18 years ago

+1 for GEB. I'm reading it right now, it's mind blowing.

wlievens• 18 years ago

I just finished Cryptonomicon. I know I'm almost a decade late, but boy that's a must-read.

bh• 18 years ago

I too thoroughly enjoyed Founders at Work. Straight after, I read Hackers & Painters by Paul Graham, which I found equally inspiring.

d00723• 18 years ago

Life and Def ---Russell Simmons... A little preachy but at it's core a good read. Nothing beats hearing how to hustle from a NBH. natural born hustla

DintyMooreNE• 18 years ago

Intellectual Property and Open Source. It is a must-read for anyone starting a business or working on an open source project.

http://www.amazon.com/Intellectual-Property-Open-Source-Prot...

http://oreilly.com/catalog/9780596517960/

tpimental• 18 years ago

I just finished "The Pixar Touch"... pretty good read on the evolution of Pixar

Ask hackers: what books have you read lately and would recommend me?

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