Crypto: How the Code Rebels Beat the Government—Saving Privacy in the Digital Age

Steven Levy’s Crypto: How the Code Rebels Beat the Government Saving Privacy in the Digital Age. So far I like it.

Crypto is likely even better than Hackers, in fact.

I also think it's a great book, but partly because it is technical. Charles is great at explaining how computers actually work with circuit diagrams from the ground up in a way that's articulate, clear, and engaging. I think I learned more from this book than I did in my CS architecture class. The historical context he puts it in helps with clarity since it's easier to understand when you know how each successive step built on the previous one. In addition to the Dream Machine, I'd also mention Steven Levy's Hackers as an obvious one to read. Some others I've read: - What the dormouse said (this one was just okay, but interesting to see some of the cultural context at the time). - Crypto (about the history of cryptography). I really liked this one, but people I've recommended it to found it dry. - In the Plex (history of Google) - Masters of Doom (John Carmack, John Romero and Id Software) Related Fiction: - Microserfs - The Soul of a New Machine - The Phoenix Project (fiction paired with the Dev Ops Handbook)

Steven Levy is great, I would add his Crypto book as well.