5 ms·

Ask hackers: what books have you read lately and would recommend me?

11 points by pkrumins 18y ago

Hackers, i just got an awesome book entitled "Founders at Work: Stories of Startups Early Days". I'll soon be finished with it, can you recommend me (and us, other hackers) more? Thanks!

sayhello 18y ago
Engineering your start-up, Swanson and Baird http://www.amazon.com/Engineering-Your-Start-Up-High-Tech-Entrepreneur/dp/B000P5XIM2/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1217299944&sr=1-8 http://www.amazon.com/Engineering-Your-Start-Up-High-Tech-En... Old school, published when 'startup' was still 2 words. Good book to read and provides a guide in many situations one may encounter in a startup.
CaptainMorgan 18y ago
Nothing startup related... but I just started reading Mastering Regular Expressions and am through the fourth chapter. It's such an amazing read and I'm punishing myself for never starting it earlier. For what the content is worth, the reading is not dry and makes the topic enjoyable. You might want to read or reread Mythical Man Month, if you're looking for startup books. While not a startup book per se, its usefulness in the aspects of the programming environment is tenfold.
wheels 18y ago
Here we go again... http://searchyc.com/books http://searchyc.com/books http://www.google.com/search?&q=site%3Anews.ycombinator.com+books http://www.google.com/search?&q=site%3Anews.ycombinator....
thinkcomp 18y ago
I'd recommend "The Cuckoo's Egg" by Cliff Stoll. And of course, "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman." And... http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=85840 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=85840
rshao 18y ago
The Monk and the Riddle by Randy Komisar I'd say it's a must read for any aspiring entrepreneur. It gives you a lot of perspective and a decent introductory exposure to the process.
fnazeeri 18y ago
Some of my favorite books: - Moneyball. A really engaging story about how game changing startups can turn a centuries-old industry on it's head....er...it's actually about baseball, but the other part is true too. - Crossing the Chasm. It's a roadmap for introducing a new product. Gives a framework for thinking about the "who" and "why" of a new market. - Sales Learning Curve by Mark Leslie. It's actually not a book but rather a short paper. Shows how the sales learning curve is similar to the manufacturing learning curve. - Extraordinary Popular Delusions & the Madness of Crowds. Why do otherwise intelligent individuals form seething masses of idiocy when they engage in collective action? Why do financially sensible people jump lemming-like into hare-brained speculative frenzies--only to jump broker-like out of windows when their fantasies dissolve? We may think that the Great Crash of 1929, junk bonds of the '80s, over-valued high-tech stocks of the '90s and real estate bubble of the past few years are peculiarly aberrations of our time, but Mackay's classic--first published in 1841--shows that the madness and confusion of crowds knows no limits. - How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. The title pretty much says it all, huh? Oh, this book was first published in 1931... - Hiring Smart. It's a book that takes about an hour to read and provides practical tips on how to interview someone (as opposed to the other way around). - Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki. Good read with some nice tidbits (particularly on fundraising). - Patton on Leadership (as in General George S. Patton). It's pretty cool...nothing too touchy-feely. - Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Build Competitive Advantage
compay 18y ago
Javascript, The Good Parts. One of the most clear, logical, well-written programming books I've ever read. Douglas Crockford covers more ground in 153 pages than I ever thought was possible in a tech book. An absolute gem. http://oreilly.com/catalog/9780596517748/ http://oreilly.com/catalog/9780596517748/
abstractbill 18y ago
I just read Richard Branson's autobiography, Losing My Virginity, and thoroughly enjoyed it.
watmough 18y ago
I'm reading K&R 2nd ed and thoroughly enjoying it.
vitaminj 18y ago
I read Cormac McCarthy's The Road recently. I found it compelling and disturbing at the same time. Definitely recommend it.
lutorm 18y ago
Fooled by Randomness or The Black Swan, if you're interested in probability/statistics as it applies to describing our knowledge of the real world.
azharcs 18y ago
How about The Road Ahead - Bill Gates. I loved that book and saw a different personality to Bill Gates other than showed by Media and masses.
tjr 18y ago
Mr. Bunny's Big Cup O' Java http://www.amazon.com/Mr-Bunnys-Big-OJava-Bunny/dp/0201615630 http://www.amazon.com/Mr-Bunnys-Big-OJava-Bunny/dp/020161563...
dan-kruchinin 18y ago
Knuth, "the art of computer programming"; Knuth, "Concrete mathematics"; "GEB (Gödel, Escher, Bach)"
- knv 18y ago
  +1 for GEB. I'm reading it right now, it's mind blowing.
wlievens 18y ago
I just finished Cryptonomicon. I know I'm almost a decade late, but boy that's a must-read.
bh 18y ago
I too thoroughly enjoyed Founders at Work. Straight after, I read Hackers & Painters by Paul Graham, which I found equally inspiring.
d00723 18y ago
Life and Def ---Russell Simmons... A little preachy but at it's core a good read. Nothing beats hearing how to hustle from a NBH. natural born hustla
DintyMooreNE 18y ago
Intellectual Property and Open Source. It is a must-read for anyone starting a business or working on an open source project. http://www.amazon.com/Intellectual-Property-Open-Source-Protecting/dp/0596517963/ http://www.amazon.com/Intellectual-Property-Open-Source-Prot... http://oreilly.com/catalog/9780596517960/ http://oreilly.com/catalog/9780596517960/
tpimental 18y ago
I just finished "The Pixar Touch"... pretty good read on the evolution of Pixar

11 points by pkrumins 18y ago

Hackers, i just got an awesome book entitled "Founders at Work: Stories of Startups Early Days". I'll soon be finished with it, can you recommend me (and us, other hackers) more? Thanks!

sayhello 18y ago

Engineering your start-up, Swanson and Baird http://www.amazon.com/Engineering-Your-Start-Up-High-Tech-Entrepreneur/dp/B000P5XIM2/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1217299944&sr=1-8 http://www.amazon.com/Engineering-Your-Start-Up-High-Tech-En... Old school, published when 'startup' was still 2 words. Good book to read and provides a guide in many situations one may encounter in a startup.

CaptainMorgan 18y ago

Nothing startup related... but I just started reading Mastering Regular Expressions and am through the fourth chapter. It's such an amazing read and I'm punishing myself for never starting it earlier. For what the content is worth, the reading is not dry and makes the topic enjoyable. You might want to read or reread Mythical Man Month, if you're looking for startup books. While not a startup book per se, its usefulness in the aspects of the programming environment is tenfold.

wheels 18y ago

Here we go again... http://searchyc.com/books http://searchyc.com/books http://www.google.com/search?&q=site%3Anews.ycombinator.com+books http://www.google.com/search?&q=site%3Anews.ycombinator....

thinkcomp 18y ago

I'd recommend "The Cuckoo's Egg" by Cliff Stoll. And of course, "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman." And... http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=85840 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=85840

rshao 18y ago

The Monk and the Riddle by Randy Komisar I'd say it's a must read for any aspiring entrepreneur. It gives you a lot of perspective and a decent introductory exposure to the process.

fnazeeri 18y ago

Some of my favorite books: - Moneyball. A really engaging story about how game changing startups can turn a centuries-old industry on it's head....er...it's actually about baseball, but the other part is true too. - Crossing the Chasm. It's a roadmap for introducing a new product. Gives a framework for thinking about the "who" and "why" of a new market. - Sales Learning Curve by Mark Leslie. It's actually not a book but rather a short paper. Shows how the sales learning curve is similar to the manufacturing learning curve. - Extraordinary Popular Delusions & the Madness of Crowds. Why do otherwise intelligent individuals form seething masses of idiocy when they engage in collective action? Why do financially sensible people jump lemming-like into hare-brained speculative frenzies--only to jump broker-like out of windows when their fantasies dissolve? We may think that the Great Crash of 1929, junk bonds of the '80s, over-valued high-tech stocks of the '90s and real estate bubble of the past few years are peculiarly aberrations of our time, but Mackay's classic--first published in 1841--shows that the madness and confusion of crowds knows no limits. - How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. The title pretty much says it all, huh? Oh, this book was first published in 1931... - Hiring Smart. It's a book that takes about an hour to read and provides practical tips on how to interview someone (as opposed to the other way around). - Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki. Good read with some nice tidbits (particularly on fundraising). - Patton on Leadership (as in General George S. Patton). It's pretty cool...nothing too touchy-feely. - Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Build Competitive Advantage

compay 18y ago

Javascript, The Good Parts. One of the most clear, logical, well-written programming books I've ever read. Douglas Crockford covers more ground in 153 pages than I ever thought was possible in a tech book. An absolute gem. http://oreilly.com/catalog/9780596517748/ http://oreilly.com/catalog/9780596517748/

abstractbill 18y ago

I just read Richard Branson's autobiography, Losing My Virginity, and thoroughly enjoyed it.

watmough 18y ago

I'm reading K&R 2nd ed and thoroughly enjoying it.

vitaminj 18y ago

I read Cormac McCarthy's The Road recently. I found it compelling and disturbing at the same time. Definitely recommend it.

lutorm 18y ago

Fooled by Randomness or The Black Swan, if you're interested in probability/statistics as it applies to describing our knowledge of the real world.

azharcs 18y ago

How about The Road Ahead - Bill Gates. I loved that book and saw a different personality to Bill Gates other than showed by Media and masses.

tjr 18y ago

Mr. Bunny's Big Cup O' Java http://www.amazon.com/Mr-Bunnys-Big-OJava-Bunny/dp/0201615630 http://www.amazon.com/Mr-Bunnys-Big-OJava-Bunny/dp/020161563...

dan-kruchinin 18y ago

Knuth, "the art of computer programming"; Knuth, "Concrete mathematics"; "GEB (Gödel, Escher, Bach)"

knv 18y ago
+1 for GEB. I'm reading it right now, it's mind blowing.

wlievens 18y ago

I just finished Cryptonomicon. I know I'm almost a decade late, but boy that's a must-read.

bh 18y ago

I too thoroughly enjoyed Founders at Work. Straight after, I read Hackers & Painters by Paul Graham, which I found equally inspiring.

d00723 18y ago

Life and Def ---Russell Simmons... A little preachy but at it's core a good read. Nothing beats hearing how to hustle from a NBH. natural born hustla

DintyMooreNE 18y ago

Intellectual Property and Open Source. It is a must-read for anyone starting a business or working on an open source project. http://www.amazon.com/Intellectual-Property-Open-Source-Protecting/dp/0596517963/ http://www.amazon.com/Intellectual-Property-Open-Source-Prot... http://oreilly.com/catalog/9780596517960/ http://oreilly.com/catalog/9780596517960/

tpimental 18y ago

I just finished "The Pixar Touch"... pretty good read on the evolution of Pixar