Subscribe by Email10 Must-Read Books for Geeks – Part I
April 1, 2008 by Geeks are Sexy | 48 comments
By Patrick Biz
Contributing Writer, [GAS]
In this two-post series, I will share my thoughts and recommendations on what I consider to be great books for the geek nation. I have paid attention to cover a wide variety of topics that fall into one large common category: technology. These must-read books can all be purchased online from Amazon.
iWoz: Computer Geek to Cult Icon: How I Invented the Personal Computer, Co-Founded Apple, and Had Fun Doing It
Authors: Steve Wozniak, Gina Smith
Publisher: W. W. Norton
288 pages
Book homepage ($2.99)
If you want to understand how the Apple fairy tale began in the seventies, then iWoz is a must read. This is the personal story of Steve Wozniak, inventor of the Apple computer. This book explains the long process that led Wozniak to create the first affordable computer, how he met Steve Jobs, and how they founded the Apple empire. This easy-to-read book reveals a captivating story aimed at everyone interested by the debut of personal computing.
Showstopper! The Breakneck Race to Create Windows NT and the Next Generation at Microsoft
Author: G. Pascal Zachary
Publisher: Free Press
312 pages
Book homepage
Showstopper is the story of Windows NT. How it all started as a command prompt OS and became a graphical user interface system following the success of Windows 3.0. The author takes you to the very heart of Microsoft’s project team where you’ll meet not only David Cuttler, the brilliant and brutal architect behind the operating system, but most of the engineers and project leaders involved in the development of Windows NT. See how some of the team members literally sacrificed their family and social life to make this thing work in time. While this is not a technical book, software developers as well as project leaders, and anyone interested by Microsoft products, will have a hard time pulling their eyes away from it.
The Ultimate History of Video Games
Author: Steven L. Kent
Publisher: Three Rivers Press
624 pages
Book homepage
For you gamers out there, this is THE ultimate book to own. To understand where your favorite game console comes from, you need to know the story behind the pinball, the pong, and the development of the first consoles such as the Atari 4600. In this 624-page brick of a book, Kent covers all the angles, anecdotes and humorous stories, such as the rename of Puck-Man to Pac-Man to avoid an unfriendly rename starting with the letter “F”. Trust me, if you are either a passionate gamer or even a game developer, this is a must-have for your bookshelf.
The Google Story
Authors: David Vise, Mark Malseed
Publisher: Delta
336 pages
Book homepage
This book takes you back to 1998 before the PageRank algorithm was born. Larry Page and Sergey Brin created Google while they were students at Stanford University. You’ll learn how the co-partners redefined Internet search and reinvented advertising, while creating one of the most influencing organizations of all time. Whether you are a web developer, an entrepreneur, or simply passionate about the Internet and Google products, you’ll find The Google Story to be an unstoppable page-turner.
Does IT Matter?
Author: Nicholas G. Carr
Publisher: Harvard Business School Press
208 pages
Book homepage
Blinded by their arrogance and syndrome of God, too many IT managers are missing the whole point behind information and technology, which is to provide commodities, as Carr claims. IT must stop focusing on following technology and should realign its mission behind the concept of providing solutions to fulfill business needs. And just as the steam engine, railroad, telegraph and electricity, technology evolves to a point where manpower decreases substantially, and IT will be no exception. This is a must-read for high-level management! I recommend everyone involved in IT to keep this book on their bedside table.
Don’t Miss Part II
Don’t miss part two of this great list of must-read books for geeks! Until then, please do not hesitate to share your thoughts and recommendations in the comments section below.
- 10 Must-Read Books for Geeks – Part II
- Read Project Gutenberg e-books with eTextReader
- Help to proof-read books with Project Gutenberg
- Wednesday Geeky Pics: Have you read any banned books lately?
I would recommend (anyone, not only geeks) “The art of deception” by Kevin Mitnick. :)
Kevins book is really a great read. I also recommend it.
It’s added to my Amazon wish list :)
Thanks Laurens
I highly recommend The Hacker Crackdown by Bruce Sterling. The whole thing is available online here.
Are you only including non-fiction? If not, Microserfs by Douglas Coupland definitely deserves a mention. It’s a fantastic slice-of-life novel about a group of programmers who leaver a major software firm to form their own start-up.
The art of deception are great. Thanks
Another classic (IMOBO) is The Cuckoo’s Nest by Cliff(ord) Stoll, an interesting read on the not-so-distant past of the Internet and also quite a nice detective story (all true, too).
I believe you mean The Cuckoo’s Egg. You have the correct author though. Minor nitpick, but the title has to do with a once common cracker’s gambit. Outstanding read though!
Someone else mentioned Microserfs, which I keep meaning to read, but in a similar light, Renegades of the Empire, tells the story of how a group of programmers created DirectX in secret without approval of management at Microsoft, when Microsoft wanted to back OpenGL. Another great read.
10 Must-Read Books for Geeks…
Patrick Biz over at GeeksAreSexy.net has the first post up for a mini-series on “10 Must-Read Books for Geeks”, and the list in this first part is already quite interesting. The Woz on spot #1 is a no-brainer, Woz being a Geek God, but the …
[...] realizado una revisión de los 10 libros Geek imperdibles de leer donde el autor presta atención a una amplia variedad de [...]
[...] is time for Part II of our 10 Must-Read Books for Geeks series. If you have missed last week’s article, just click here and you’ll be taken [...]
[...] Los 10 libros más geek Abril 10, 2008 Guardado en: Curiosidades, Geek, General, Internet — arghonauta @ 6:53 pm Leo a través de Microsiervos que a su vez leen en Geek are Sexy (en guiri inglés) que los 10 libros que todo geek debería leer son estos: iwok, Showstopperl, The ultimate history of video Games, The Google history, Does it matter?,… [...]
10?? I see 1010 books there ;)
[...] tachar elementos de las mismas y agregar nuevos. Leo en Microsiervos, que a su vez lo hacen de Geeks Are Sexy, una lista de diez libros que todo Geek debe leer. Ahora que me encuentro leyendo la hilarante [...]
[...] cá e acolá fum fazendo umha listinha de livros, sem ordem concreta. Há muitos mais e melhores mas [...]
ponte serio
[...] Esta es la lista de los 10 libros de lectura obligados para geeks. [...]
I add: Being Digital, by Nicholas Negroponte; Laws of Media, by Marshall McLuhan; Microserfs, by Douglas Coupland.
[...] 10 libros de lectura obligada para geeks (en inglés) [...]
They are annoying at times and always leave you guessing but the Google Story is well worth the read!!
Danny
hey chema, that’s 0101, but nice try ;)
[...] 10 libros de lectura obligada para geeks… Me temo que no seré un buen geek nunca, que hay algunos que no me apetece nada nada leérmelos! (Via) [...]
[...] Title: 10 Must-Read Books for Geeks – Part I and 10 Must-Read Books for Geeks – Part II Blog: Geeks Are Sexy If you are a geek, check out this [...]
Why not recommend “The art of Intrusion” by Kevin Mitnick ;)
~seejay~
Another good read is a fictional novel called “How to install Linux on a dead badger” very amusing book.
“The Google Story” is horrible. The author is more fawning than my girlfriend when she asks whether she may pleasure me orally.
The Ultimate History of Video Games is good but a wonder if its in whsmith…
I hold the book ‘Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution’ by Steven Levy in pretty high regard.
I think geeks are so sexy! I love these book recommendations! thank you! so looking forward to part 2!
I love WOZ!! did you see him on BRAVO while he was dating kathy griffin? oh my, it was awesome! he is such a big geek! it was so great to see him in action! they are no longer dating….but Kathy sure did expose him to lots of new stuff!
he immediately broke into her iphone when she got it! what does that say? :)
I am really going to read his book! I think it will be a great read!
and did you know the google boys are burners? burningman.com! :) this was my 6th year! looking forward to next year: evolution! have you been…try it out :)
I really want to read about google more!
thank you so much!
kisses
g
Hate to say it but iWoz is one of the worst (auto)biographies I have ever read :( Very disappointing… I actually had trouble finishing the book… although I suppose it’s written in a very accessible style (i.e. suitable for 10 year olds)
[...] presents 10 Must-Read Books for Geeks posted at [Geeks Are Sexy] Technology [...]
I gather calling iWoz “easy to read” is the nicest way of saying “this reads like it was written by a child”. It was certainly a very interesting book but sentences should not begin with conjunctions! I wanted to punch him.
[...] Must-Read Books for Geeks At some stage I want to come back to this list and have a read on a few of these books – to get that geeky feeling at least a [...]
[...] 10 Must-Read Books for Geeks [...]
[...] este caso me encuentro, vía Microsiervos, con una lista de 10 libros de lectura obligada para cualquier Geek que se [...]
for anyone/everyone & fiction:
The Baroque Cycle
~Neil Stephenson
is an absolutely masterful trilogy.
ofc: don’t take my word for it, read it for yourself.
[...] Geeks Are Sexy [...]
Being Digital, by Nicholas Negroponte and Microserfs are great reads! definitively my favourites!
You miss the main point; where is the hitchhiker’s guide to galaxy?
correction: 10-must read books for computer geeks. Not all geeks work in IT/find IT related literature interesting.
today i discovered your blog. I think is the best blog
that I read lately… about the books, “The Google Story” is fascinating…
[...] of the books on their “10 must read books for Geeks” sound very interesting so I thought I would also share them with my readers. So here we [...]
Great post on books-I referenced your technology blog on mine :)
http://blog.connectzone.com/
Thanks, Jemma!
I know this book is a little “long in the tooth”, but still holds a lot of value in today’s world… and is definitely worth a read:
The Cathedral & the Bazaar: Musings on Linux and Open Source by an Accidental Revolutionary
Awesome book. Linux is becoming a bit a big player in the netbook market – about 10% of all netbooks currently use Linux, last time I checked.
I didn’t read through all the books, but I enjoyed THE SEARCH by John Batelle. “Google is the Database of Intentions”
Why the apple loving? One Apple related book, I could appreciate, purely due to it’s business model and original O/S which microsoft ripped off. But this just strikes me as being written by an Apple fan boy.
And where the hell is Hitchiker’s?! It’s missing decent coverage of Open Source, FSF, BSD and Linux too! And what of the non-IT geekery? I believe astronomy probably should feature too!
Hey, I’ve read “Does IT Matter?”. It is really an interesting book! Give it a try for those who hasn’t read it.