Ask HN: What are some books to fuel your ambition towards computer science? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: What are some books to fuel your ambition towards computer science?

I have a young friend (high school senior) that wants to be a computer scientist and I want to gift him a book that will get him more excited about the subject. The book doesn't have to be strictly computer science it could be about hacking or computer engineering etc. Nothing too technical though because he is pretty new to it all despite his interest. What do you suggest?

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(Including Amazon links, but just for convenience, buy wherever you want)

Code by Petzold (https://www.amazon.com/Code-Language-Computer-Hardware-Softw...) - non-technical (in the sense it isn't something to "work through"), covers a lot of interesting topics. Especially approachable for that age.

Elements of Computing Systems by Nisan & Schoken (https://www.amazon.com/Elements-Computing-Systems-second-Pri...) - more technical (has content to work through). I've read the first edition, not the second. Has a companion site: https://www.nand2tetris.org. It's well-written, and a motivated high schooler could work through it.

The Code Book by Singh (https://www.amazon.com/Code-Book-Science-Secrecy-Cryptograph...)

The Codebreakers by Kahn (https://www.amazon.com/Codebreakers-Comprehensive-History-Co...)

I was always interested in ciphers and such as a kid so those two books got my attention when I found them in high school/college. I'm a bit fuzzy, now, about which one I was more interested in but both were good books. (I still have them, may give them a re-read next month.)

There are a few others I have in mind, but just can't recall the titles at the moment.

It might be a bit too archaic now, as a lot of the terms and technologies discussed were on the way out even when the last printed version was published, but I did find The New Hacker's Dictionary very enjoyable in this sense.

Programming Pearls might be another good book that promotes enjoyment of computing; certainly a bit more technical, but I think plenty readable for someone interested.

https://www.amazon.com/New-Hackers-Dictionary-3rd/dp/0262680...

https://www.amazon.com/Programming-Pearls-2nd-Jon-Bentley/dp...

Neuromancer (1984)by William Gibson, the original cyberpunk novel

Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson, where Metaverse came from

Rainbow Bridge by Vernor Vinge, lots of AR stuff

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, book is different than movie

In addition to the ones already mentioned in this thread, I’d also recommend The Cuckoo's Egg by Cliff Stoll and The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch.

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