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the best books on technology

The technology books most often recommended by founders, engineers, and operators in our index. Covers the histories of the big technology shifts and the books that shaped their architects.

60 books, ranked by how many of the 4,800 notable readers in our index have publicly recommended each one.

  1. Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies
    16 people

    Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies

    Nick Bostrom · 2014

    16 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  2. Don't Make Me Think, Revisited: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability (3rd Edition) (Voices That Matter)
    14 people

    Don't Make Me Think, Revisited: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability (3rd Edition) (Voices That Matter)

    Steve Krug · 2013

    14 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  3. The Singularity Is Near
    13 people

    The Singularity Is Near

    Ray Kurzweil · 2006

    13 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  4. How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy
    13 people

    How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy

    Jenny Odell · 2019

    13 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  5. Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think (Exponential Technology Series)
    11 people

    Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think (Exponential Technology Series)

    Peter H. Diamandis · 2012

    11 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  6. The Coming Wave: Technology, Power, and the Twenty-first Century's Greatest Dilemma
    10 people

    The Coming Wave: Technology, Power, and the Twenty-first Century's Greatest Dilemma

    Michael Bhaskar & Mustafa Suleyman · 2023

    10 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  7. Mythical Man-Month, The: Essays on Software Engineering, Anniversary Edition
    10 people

    Mythical Man-Month, The: Essays on Software Engineering, Anniversary Edition

    Frederick P. Brooks Jr. · 1995

    10 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  8. Hackers & Painters: Big Ideas from the Computer Age
    8 people

    Hackers & Painters: Big Ideas from the Computer Age

    Paul Graham · 2004

    8 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  9. Deep Learning (Adaptive Computation and Machine Learning series)
    8 people

    Deep Learning (Adaptive Computation and Machine Learning series)

    Ian Goodfellow · 2016

    8 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  10. Working in Public
    7 people

    Working in Public

    Nadia Eghbal · 2020

    7 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  11. The Soul of a New Machine
    7 people

    The Soul of a New Machine

    Tracy Kidder · 2000

    7 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  12. Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution
    7 people

    Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution

    Steven Levy · 2001

    7 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  13. The Inmates Are Running the Asylum: Why High Tech Products Drive Us Crazy and How to Restore the Sanity
    6 people

    The Inmates Are Running the Asylum: Why High Tech Products Drive Us Crazy and How to Restore the Sanity

    Alan Cooper · 2004

    6 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  14. You Look Like a Thing and I Love You
    6 people

    You Look Like a Thing and I Love You

    Janelle Shane · 2019

    6 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  15. What Technology Wants
    6 people

    What Technology Wants

    Kevin Kelly · 2010

    6 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  16. Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs
    6 people

    Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs

    Harold Abelson · 1996

    6 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  17. Art of Doing Science and Engineering: Learning to Learn
    6 people

    Art of Doing Science and Engineering: Learning to Learn

    Richard W. Hamming · 1997

    6 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  18. Cognitive Surplus
    5 people

    Cognitive Surplus

    Clay Shirky · 2010

    5 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  19. Creative Selection: Inside Apple's Design Process During the Golden Age of Steve Jobs
    5 people

    Creative Selection: Inside Apple's Design Process During the Golden Age of Steve Jobs

    Ken Kocienda · 2018

    5 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  20. QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter (Princeton Science Library, 33)
    5 people

    QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter (Princeton Science Library, 33)

    Richard P. Feynman · 1988

    5 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  21. Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now
    5 people

    Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now

    Jaron Lanier · 2018

    5 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  22. On Intelligence
    5 people

    On Intelligence

    Jeff Hawkins · 2005

    5 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  23. Whole Earth Discipline: An Ecopragmatist Manifesto
    5 people

    Whole Earth Discipline: An Ecopragmatist Manifesto

    Stewart Brand · 2009

    5 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  24. Hello World: How to Be Human in the Age of the Machine
    5 people

    Hello World: How to Be Human in the Age of the Machine

    Hannah Fry · 2019

    5 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  25. The Pragmatic Programmer: From Journeyman to Master
    5 people

    The Pragmatic Programmer: From Journeyman to Master

    Andrew Hunt & David Thomas · 1999

    5 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  26. Envisioning Information
    4 people

    Envisioning Information

    Edward R. Tufte · 1992

    4 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  27. Quantum Computing since Democritus
    4 people

    Quantum Computing since Democritus

    Scott Aaronson · 2013

    4 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  28. Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software
    4 people

    Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software

    Charles Petzold · 2000

    4 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  29. The Singularity Is Nearer: When We Merge with AI
    4 people

    The Singularity Is Nearer: When We Merge with AI

    Ray Kurzweil · 2024

    4 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  30. The World Without Us
    4 people

    The World Without Us

    Alan Weisman · 2007

    4 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  31. Breaking the Social Media Prism: How to Make Our Platforms Less Polarizing
    4 people

    Breaking the Social Media Prism: How to Make Our Platforms Less Polarizing

    Christopher Bail · 2021

    4 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  32. The Search
    4 people

    The Search

    John Battelle · 2005

    4 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  33. Principles of Optics: 60th Anniversary Edition
    4 people

    Principles of Optics: 60th Anniversary Edition

    Max Born · 2019

    4 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  34. Code Complete: A Practical Handbook of Software Construction, Second Edition
    3 people

    Code Complete: A Practical Handbook of Software Construction, Second Edition

    Steve McConnell · 2004

    3 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  35. The Art of Computer Programming, Vol. 1
    3 people

    The Art of Computer Programming, Vol. 1

    Donald E. Knuth · 1997

    3 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  36. The C Programming Language
    3 people

    The C Programming Language

    Brian W. Kernighan · 1988

    3 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  37. Visual Explanations: Images and Quantities, Evidence and Narrative
    3 people

    Visual Explanations: Images and Quantities, Evidence and Narrative

    Edward R. Tufte · 1998

    3 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  38. Our Final Invention: Artificial Intelligence and the End of the Human Era
    3 people

    Our Final Invention: Artificial Intelligence and the End of the Human Era

    James Barrat · 2013

    3 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  39. The Little Schemer - 4th Edition
    3 people

    The Little Schemer - 4th Edition

    Daniel P. Friedman · 1995

    3 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  40. Rocket Surgery Made Easy: The Do-It-Yourself Guide to Finding and Fixing Usability Problems
    3 people

    Rocket Surgery Made Easy: The Do-It-Yourself Guide to Finding and Fixing Usability Problems

    Steve Krug · 2009

    3 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  41. How the Internet Happened
    3 people

    How the Internet Happened

    Brian McCullough · 2018

    3 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  42. Elements of Information Theory 2nd Edition (Wiley Series in Telecommunications and Signal Processing)
    3 people

    Elements of Information Theory 2nd Edition (Wiley Series in Telecommunications and Signal Processing)

    Thomas M. Cover · 2006

    3 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  43. The Non-Designer's Design Book
    3 people

    The Non-Designer's Design Book

    Robin Williams · 2004

    3 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  44. Sandy Hook
    3 people

    Sandy Hook

    Elizabeth Williamson · 2022

    3 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  45. How to Create a Mind: The Secret of Human Thought Revealed
    3 people

    How to Create a Mind: The Secret of Human Thought Revealed

    Ray Kurzweil · 2012

    3 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  46. The Knowledge
    3 people

    The Knowledge

    Lewis Dartnell · 2015

    3 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  47. Wild Fell
    3 people

    Wild Fell

    Lee Schofield · 2022

    3 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  48. Rocket Propulsion Elements
    2 people

    Rocket Propulsion Elements

    George P. Sutton · 2010

    2 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  49. Web Standards Solutions: The Markup and Style Handbook
    2 people

    Web Standards Solutions: The Markup and Style Handbook

    Dan Cederholm · 2009

    2 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  50. Regenesis
    2 people

    Regenesis

    George Monbiot · 2022

    2 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  51. The Little Kingdom
    2 people

    The Little Kingdom

    Michael Moritz · 1984

    2 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  52. Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism
    2 people

    Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism

    Safiya Umoja Noble · 2018

    2 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  53. Domain-Driven Design: Tackling Complexity in the Heart of Software
    2 people

    Domain-Driven Design: Tackling Complexity in the Heart of Software

    Eric Evans · 2003

    2 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  54. The Twenty-Six Words That Created the Internet
    2 people

    The Twenty-Six Words That Created the Internet

    Jeff Kosseff · 2019

    2 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  55. User Friendly
    2 people

    User Friendly

    Cliff Kuang & Robert Fabricant · 2019

    2 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  56. Ending Aging
    2 people

    Ending Aging

    Aubrey de Grey · 2007

    2 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  57. Python Machine Learning
    2 people

    Python Machine Learning

    Sebastian Raschka · 2015

    2 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  58. Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs: JavaScript Edition (MIT Electrical Engineering and Computer Science)
    2 people

    Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs: JavaScript Edition (MIT Electrical Engineering and Computer Science)

    Martin Henz · 2022

    2 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  59. You Are Not a Gadget: A Manifesto
    2 people

    You Are Not a Gadget: A Manifesto

    Jaron Lanier · 2010

    2 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop
  60. On Web Typography
    2 people

    On Web Typography

    Jason Santa Maria · 2014

    2 recommenders

    AmazonBookshop

other topic hubs

Methodology: each book is ranked by the number of recommenders in our index who have publicly endorsed it. Curated topics use a hand-picked book list; year-stamped pages query our index by publication year. More on methodology →