Seconding this one, it strikes a very good balance between theory/pragmatism/entertainment/broader-context. It's oriented around the steps of actually implement

Seconding this one, it strikes a very good balance between theory/pragmatism/entertainment/broader-context. It's oriented around the steps of actually implementing the thing, but there are lots of great little tidbits that shed light on surrounding subjects. The usage of Java for this purpose is a bit... contrived, but it's not because the author doesn't know what he's doing, and following along in a different language that's better-suited to the task makes a good exercise for the reader