Ask HN: Computer Science/History Books?

The Pragmatic Programmer by Hunt & Thomas.

McConnell, Steve (2004) Code Complete, 2nd ed.

"Code" by Charles Petzold is a great read.

The Soul of a New Machine by Tracy Kidder. Probably the best book on product development ever written.

The soul of a new machine Not much history, but more on how a small computer manufacturer in 70s.

+1 on "The Soul of a New Machine"

I read Phoenix Project first

and then The Goal. I enjoyed both and I think that's the best order.

Crypto is likely even better than Hackers, in fact.

I'd also mention Steven Levy's Hackers as an obvious one to read.

- Hackers: heroes of the computer revolution

- The Information: A History, A Theory, A Flood

The Dream Machine: J.C.R. Licklider and the Revolution That Made Computing Personal

- Dream Machine

The Dream Machine is a fantastic and thorough history of the early days of computing

and 2) "The Dream Machine: J.C.R. Licklider and the Revolution That Made Computing Personal".

Raymond, Eric (2003) Art of Unix Programming

I second this,

"The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation" by Jon Gertner.

The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation by Jon Gertner

"Dreaming in code" by Scott Rosenberg