What is the purpose of a textbook? To inspire a mode of thought. Ideally, a book then becomes a companion for life. Wow. What a brilliant distillation. Also a

What is the purpose of a textbook? To inspire a mode of thought. Ideally, a book then becomes a companion for life. Wow. What a brilliant distillation. Also a perfect description of my experience with the first computer science book I ever read, SICP (http://mitpress.mit.edu/sicp/full-text/book/book.html http://mitpress.mit.edu/sicp/full-text/book/book.html).