Gleick's book encouraged me to read Shannon's The Mathematical Theory of Communication. Shannon's conversational tone in the first half is amazing. This is a p

Gleick's book encouraged me to read Shannon's The Mathematical Theory of Communication. Shannon's conversational tone in the first half is amazing. This is a primary work, laying out a novel idea, but it reads as if it were the most self-evident thing there is, and you're just being nudged along a little bit. Was this the norm in the 40s for technical papers, or was Shannon just a great writer? (The second half delves deeper in the calculus behind it, which I found difficult). Anyway, The Information is a great read indeed, but Shannon's original is surprisingly engaging and accessible.