Here's a book that I had a random encounter with at a teenager, that gave me an excellent understanding of how computers work at the lowest levels: http://www.a

Here's a book that I had a random encounter with at a teenager, that gave me an excellent understanding of how computers work at the lowest levels: http://www.amazon.com/Code-Language-Computer-Hardware-Software/dp/0735611319 http://www.amazon.com/Code-Language-Computer-Hardware-Softwa... It basically starts with a "code" of two friends talking to each other between houses at night via blinking flashlights, and gradually builds up from there to a full, if somewhat barebones, microprocessor, logic gate by logic gate. And it does so in a way that teenage me was able to follow.