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Ask HN: Petzold's CODE: books that teach in the same way but not about computers
I recently finished reading this book and I can't express how much it added to my life. I wondered if there are similar books in terms of 'way of teaching' out there - smoothly, humorously describing a tough subject.
- volfied 6y agoI have really enjoyed CODE as well, and I recently started reading Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari Completely different subject, taught in a way it builds up.
- monroewalker 6y agoI actually just finished that book last night. I enjoyed it, but its accuracy seems dubious. There are some good links to problems in the book in this thread: https://amp.reddit.com/r/AskAnthropology/comments/jqqovm/is_the_book_sapiens_a_brief_history_of_humankind/ https://amp.reddit.com/r/AskAnthropology/comments/jqqovm/is_... Still worth reading imo. Reading the book and then reading about its errors seems as good a way of any as getting a big picture view of human history.
- GoldenMonkey 6y agoSapiens is great! And the audio version is enjoyable.
- joshenders 6y agoOne of my favorites
- austinprete 6y agoAs a disclaimer I haven't read CODE, even though it's been on my list for a while (sounds like I ought to prioritize it!). From my understanding of the style I believe The Gene: An Intimate History by Siddhartha Mukherjee is a similar take on genetics. It stays fairly high level as it doesn't require a molecular biology degree, but Mukherjee gives a fantastic primer on many of the concepts in genetics in a deeply interesting and human fashion. It's always refreshing when non-fiction books manage to weave a narrative throughout in a way that feels natural.
- imakwana 6y agoInside the Machine: An Illustrated Introduction to Microprocessors and Computer Architecture by Jon Stokes.
- pjungwir 6y agoI've read Code. I also liked Financial Statements by Thomas R. Ittelson. It has a similar tutorial-like approach.
- user0x1d 6y agoTruly loved Financial Statements. It's exactly what I was looking for. Do you have any other book recommendations? Be it 'tutorial-like' approach or other
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- jml7c5 6y agoI really loved CODE. Some of these suggestions are more similar to it than others, but they are all worth reading or viewing: -"Gödel, Escher, Bach" by Douglas Hofstadter is more whimsical and meandering, but has a similar technique of building from the ground up. -"The Code Book" by Simon Singh is more of a history book, but it has some of the same "feel" in the progression of complexity, even if it will not truly teach you much cryptography. -The Feynman lectures on physics, which are probably as close as you'll get in tone: https://www.feynmanlectures.caltech.edu/ https://www.feynmanlectures.caltech.edu/ -And this is a video, not a book, but it stands out to me as a fantastic piece of science communication that is worthy of mention: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKqof77pKBc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKqof77pKBc (34C3 - Free Electron Lasers)
- jbjbjbjb 6y agoI’ll mention QED by Richard Feynman. It has a sort of similar style but my memory of it is a bit hazy.
- lmarcos 6y agoThe Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood. Book by James Gleick