David Tribble's
Bibliography of Good Books

Revision: 1.10, 2009-01-18

Mathematics, Science, and Philosophy

• Gödel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid
  A Metaphorical Fugue on Minds and Machines in the Spirit of Lewis Carroll
  Douglas R. Hofstadter
  Basic Books, 1979, ISBN 0-465-02685-0 hbk
  
  This is a mind-boggling discourse on artificial intelligence, baroque music, and mathematical incompleteness theorems. One of my most favorite books.

• Infinity and the Mind
  The Science and Philosophy of the Infinite
  Rudy Rucker
  Bantam Books, 1982, ISBN 0-553-23433-1 pbk
  
  Probably the most detailed discussion of the concept of infinity that there is. Comprehensive coverage of the mathematics of transfinite (infinite) numbers and thought-provoking discussions of the philosophical questions that arise when contemplating infinity. It also covers the foundations of set theory, Georg Cantor's transfinite numbers, and Kurt Gödel's incompleteness theorem.

  It is sometimes postulated that a universe containing all possible histories must eventually include a history where unicorns exist. This is an incorrect understanding of infinite sets, because there can exist infinite sets that exclude an infinite number of possible (or impossible) subsets; for example, the set of even integers contains an infinite number of integers, yet it also excludes an infinite number of integers (all of them being odd).

• Why People Believe Weird Things
  Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time
  Micheal Shermer
  Forward by Steven Jay Gould
  W. H. Freeman and Company, 1997, ISBN 0-7167-3387-0 pbk
  
  Written by the founder of the Skeptics Society (www.skeptic.com), this serves as a manifesto for skeptics.

  Catalogs and analyzes the various pseudoscientific, paranormal, and superstitious beliefs of our society. Details the distinction between these belief systems and true science. Also defines what is means to be a skeptic, the approach of skepticism, and critical thinking.

  This underlying theme of this book might best be summed up by the response Shermer gave when asked, "Why should we believe anything you say?". His response was, "You shouldn't. Think for yourself."

• The World Treasury of Physics, Astronomy, and Mathematics
  edited by Timothy Ferris
  Little, Brown and Company, 1991, ISBN 0-316-28133-6 pbk
  
  An excellent and exhaustive (large) book containing excerpts and selected articles from the great minds of science and mathematics.

• One, Two, Three... Infinity
  Facts and Speculations of Science
  George Gamow
  Dover Publications, Inc., 1947(1961,1974), ISBN 0-486-25664-2 pbk
  
  Some of the items in this book are a bit dated, but this is a little gem of a book nonetheless. Describing this book as a summary of the history of physics does not do it justice, as it is much more than that. Gamow covers the various topics of mathematics, relativity, thermodynamics, the elements and basic chemistry, life, probability, and cosmology.

• ISMs
  A Compendium of Concepts, Doctines, Traits, and Beliefs from ABLEISM to ZYGODACTYLISM
  Alan & Theresa von Altendorf
  Mustang Publishing, 1991, ISBN 0-914457-45-4 hbk
  
  Defines and discusses every "-ism" term that exists from a refreshingly honest and politically incorrect perspective.

• The Bell Curve
  Richard J. Herrnstein and Charles Murray
  The Free Press, 1994, ISBN 0-02-914673-9 hbk
  
  Controversial book which examines the distribution of intelligence among different categories of people based on analysis of years of accumulated data. The authors estimate that intelligence is about 60% inherited and 40% environmental.

• Rare Earth
  Why Complex Life is Uncommon in the Universe
  Peter D. Ward, Donald Brownlee
  Copernicus / Springer-Verlag, 2000, ISBN 0-387-98701-0 hbk
  
  The authors use the latest discoveries in biology, geology, and physics to put forth their "Rare Earth" hypothesis, which states that primitive life, such as bacteria, is probably more common throuhgout the universe that previously thought, but that complex life, such as animals and humans, is probably much rarer than previously thought. The events and conditions that led up to intelligent life on Earth are probably an extremely rare and possibly unique combination, making the existence of intelligent extraterrestrial life extremely unlikely.

  Also discusses the fairly small range of conditions required to maintain hospitable living conditions on Earth, such as atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, terrestrial geological activity, and bombardments from solar-orbit comets and asteroids. Such conditions have not always been at the levels they are today.

• Beginnings
  The story of Origins — of Mankind, Life, The Earth, the Universe
  Isaac Asimov
  Berkley Books, 1987, ISBN 0-425-11586-0 pbk
  
  A single book covering the entire history of everything, from the origin of the Universe, the solar system, and the Earth, to the rise of life on Earth, and on to human beings and technology, up to powered flight. But these events are told in reverse, which adds an interesting perpective to all of this history.

  This makes for a very good introduction to modern cosmology and evolution theory in one handy book.

Mathematics

• A History of π (pi)
  Petr Beckmann
  St. Martin's Press, 1976, ISBN 0-312-38185-9 pbk
  
  A brilliant and enjoyable history of the discovery and subsequent search for the value of pi. Beckmann is not afraid to make his commentary on the social ills, such as Communism, and of past cultures, which makes this book all the more enjoyable.

• Prime Obsession
  Bernhard Riemann and the Greatest Unsolved Problem in Mathematics
  John Derbyshire
  A Plume Book / The Penguin Group, 2003, ISBN 0-452-28525-9 pbk
  
  In the tradition of Beckmann's History of π (pi), this is an excellent historical and mathematical treatment of the Riemann Hypothesis, The odd chapters discuss mathematics, and the even chapters provide the history of the people behind the math. Very entertaining and educating.

• Unknown Quantity:
  A Real and Imaginary History of Algebra
  John Derbyshire
  Joseph Henry Press, 2007, ISBN 0-309-09657-X hbk, 0-452-28853-3 pbk
  
  Another excellent and entertaining book by Derbyshire, this time about the history of algebra. There's much more to the subject than you may think.

• e: The Story of a Number
  Eli Maor
  Princeton University Press, 1994, ISBN 0-691-05854-7 pbk
  
  In the tradition of Beckmann's History of π (pi), this is an excellent historical and mathematical treatment of Euler's number e, logarithms, calculus, and so on. Very entertaining to those who are mathematically inclined. Demonstrates that the exponential and trigonometric functions are closely intertwined within the universe of complex numbers.

• To Infinity and Beyond
  Eli Maor
  Princeton University Press, 1991, ISBN 0-691-02511-8 pbk
  
  Discusses the history of the concept of infinity and the infinite, and its various mathematical incarnations.

• Trigonometric Delights
  Eli Maor
  Princeton University Press, 2002, ISBN 0-691-09541-8 pbk
  
  An entertaining book that details many delightful equations in trigonometry. Maor does a very good job of keeping the mathematically inclined reader interested in page after page of equations and graphs, showing unexpected relations between various equations and concepts. Included is a chapter devoted to cartography and the challenges of creating useful mappings of spheres onto planes.

• An Imaginary Tale
  The Story of √–1
  Paul J. Nahin
  Princeton University Press, 1998, ISBN 0-691-02795-1 pbk
  
  Explains the history behind the imaginary number i, the square root of –1. It all started when Cordano and others tried to find a general solution for the zeroes of cubic equations (e.g., ax³ + bx² + cx + d = 0).

• Journey Through Genius
  The Great Theorems of Mathematics
  William Dunham
  John Wiley & Sons, 1990, ISBN 0-140-14739-X pbk
  
  Contains twelve of the greatest theorems in the history of mathematics, devoting a chapter to each one. As well as describing the historical context, each great theorem is surrounded by additional history, personalities, and theorems that build upon and extend the insight it established. Each theorem is presented in its original form (translated into English) so as to preserve the original intent and flavor of its author.

• Zero
  The Biography of a Dangerous Idea
  Charles Seife
  Viking / The Penguin Group, 2000, ISBN 0-670-88457-X hbk
  
  Far from being a simple telling of the history of the digit zero, this book delves into the very idea of nothingness and its counterpart, infinity, and traces the dogmatic conceptual obstacles that were overthrown in mathematics, philosophy, religion, and the arts as these ideas became integrated into the very foundations of modern thought.

• The Parrot's Theorem: A Novel
  Denis Guedj
  Thomas Dunne Books, 2001, ISBN 0-312-30302-5 pbk
  
  Set in Paris, this is a tale of mathematics and its history, wrapped in a mystery plot involving murder and secret theorems. Three children and their widowed mother learn about the great discoveries of mathematics from their mentor, a bookseller, who has recieved a cache of priceless mathematics texts.

  While the plot unfolds, much of the history of mathematics is told in this story, making the book a nice companion to some of the other historical math books listed here.

Physics

• Instant Physics
  From Aristotle to Einstein, and Beyond
  Tony Rothman, Ph.D.
  A Byron Preiss Book / Fawcett Columbine, 1995, ISBN 0-449-90697-3 pbk
  
  A very good, short, understandable book covering basic physics from simple mechanics through electromagnetism and finally up through relativity. Very enjoyable to read, especially for a physics book.

• The Whold Shebang
  A State-of-the-Universe(s) Report
  Timothy Ferris
  Simon & Schuster, 1997, ISBN 0-684-81020-4 hbk
  
  Covers the state of physics theories of the origin of the Universe up to the "many worlds" or "multiverse" hypothesis. Entertaining and thought-provoking, it also gives a very good historical perspective of how we came to know what we know about the structure and composition of the visible universe.

• Elegant Universe
  Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory
  Brian Greene
  Vintage Books / Random House, 1999, ISBN 0-375-70811-1 pbk
  
  Introduction to "superstring theory", or simply "string theory", which defines our Universe as having ten dimensions, six of which are curled up invisibly small, and all matter and energy being manifestations of the vibrations of "strings", the fundamental Planck-sized constituents of everything.

  Much like Einstein's discovery that the speed of light is a limit that no physical interaction can exceed, string theory places a lower limit on reality such that no unit of matter or energy interaction can be smaller than the Planck scale.

• Beyond Einstein
  The Cosmic Quest for the Theory of the Universe
  Michio Kaku, Jennifer Trainer
  Bantam Books, Mar 1987, ISBN 0-553-34349-1 pbk
  
  Covers the history of modern physics, leading up to the current foundations of superstring theory.

• Hyperspace
  A Scientific Odyssey through Parallel Universes, Time Warps, and the 10th Dimension
  Michio Kaku
  Anchor Books / Doubleday (orig. Oxford University Press), 1994, ISBN 0-385-47705-8 pbk
  
  This book builds on Kaku's previous book (above).

  Starts with Maxwell's equations that unified electric and magnetic phenomena into a single theory, on to Einstein's discovery that gravity is a geometric feature of spaectime, leading up to "superstring theory", which explains the physics of our Universe as being built within a 26-dimensional spacetime having 16 of the dimensions curled up into Planck-sized surfaces.

• The First Three Minutes
  Steven Weinberg
  Second Edition
  Basic Books, Jan 1994, ISBN 0-465-02437-8 pbk
  
  Seminal book that describes the beginning of the Universe, from the Big Bang to the formation of atoms.

• The Last Three Minutes
  Conjectures about the Ultimate Fate of the Universe
  Paul Davies
  BasicBooks / HarperCollins, 1994, ISBN 0-465-04892-7M pbk
  
  Discusses the future history the entire Universe, based on known physics. Titled as a complement to Weinberg's famous book.

• The Five Ages of the Universe
  Inside the Physics of Eternity
  Fred Adams, Greg Laughlin
  The Free Press / Simon & Schuster, 1999, ISBN 0-684-85422-8 hbk
  
  Uses currently known quantum and relativistic physics to predict the eventual fate of the Earth, the Sun, the Milky Way, and the entire Universe. Discusses inconceivably vast stretches of time, up to 10¹⁰⁰⁰ years in the future, and the physical changes that will occur in the Universe during that time.

• The Boy Scientist
  John Lewellen
  A Popular Mechanics Book, 1955, 55-11410 hbk
  (out of print)
  
  An excellent introduction for children to the major fields of science. This is the book I read as a kid, which introduced me to the wonderful world of physics.

Politics

• Republican Party Reptile
  P. J. O'Rourke
  Atlantic Monthly Press, 1995, ISBN 0-87113-622-8 pbk
  
  A funny and refreshing antidote to Democrats and Liberals.

• 25 Years of P. J. O'Rourke
  Age and Guile Beat Youth, Innocence, and a Bad Haircut
  P. J. O'Rourke
  The Atlantic Monthly Press, 1995, ISBN 0-87113-609-0 hbk
  
  Collected writings of America's best conservative writer and humorist. "An Inquiry Into the Nature of Good and Evil" (p.44) is a personal favorite of mine.

• All the Trouble in the World
  The Lighter Side of Overpopulation, Famine, Ecological Disaster, Ethnic Hatred, Plague, and Poverty
  P. J. O'Rourke
  The Atlantic Monthly Press, 1994, ISBN 0-87113-580-9 pbk
  
  Up-close descriptions of other countries and their failed policies, wars, etc. Humorously told, of course.

• Parliament of Whores
  A Lone Humorist Attempts to Explain the Entire U.S. Government
  P. J. O'Rourke
  Vintage Books / Random House, 1991, ISBN 0-679-73789-8 pbk
  
  Explains how the U.S. government works, or more to the point, how it doesn't.

• Give War a Chance
  Eyewitness accounts of Mankind's struggle against tyranny, injustice, and alcohol-free beer
  P. J. O'Rourke
  Atlantic Monthly Press, 1992, ISBN 0-87113-520-5 hbk
  
  Gives a healthy and humorous dose of conservative common sense on topics such as war, the Sixties, Communism, dictatorships, and foreign travel. "The Death of Communism" (p.3) and "Second Thoughts About the 1960s" (p.90) are a masterpieces, among several.

• Eat the Rich
  A Treatise on Economics
  P. J. O'Rourke
  Atlantic Monthly Press, 1998, ISBN 0-87113-760-7 pbk
  
  Explains the fundamentals of economics, especially the concept of money, in a very humorous series of chapters. The author travels to various countries to explain Good Capitalism, Bad Capitalism, Good Socialism, Bad Socialism, and simple Economics Theory. A real eye opener for anyone who believes Capitalism is evil and that Socialism is the highest form of government.

Religion

• Who Wrote the Bible
  Richard Elliot Friedman
  Perrenial Library / Harper & Row, 1987, ISBN 0-06-097214-9 pbk
  
  Explains the origins of the first five books of the Bible (the Pentateuch) from archealogical, historical, and comparative linguistic evidence. Provides convincing arguments for the people most likely to have authored and edited the early Hebrew religious texts. Contains a fascinating analysis of the story of Noah and the Flood, describing how two separate narratives were combined hundreds of years later to form the surviving single story.

Computer Science and Programming

• The Art of Computer Programming
  
  
  
  • Volume 1: Fundamental Algorithms
    Third Edition, Sep 1997, ISBN 0-201-89683-4 hbk.

  • Volume 2: Seminumerical Methods
    Third Edition, Sep 1997, ISBN 0-201-89684-2 hbk.

  • Volume 3: Sorting and Searching
    Second Edition, Aug 1998, ISBN 0-201-89685-0 hbk.

  Donald Knuth
  Addison-Wesley, 1973, 1997
  
  These are the classic reference volumes on programming, covering the foundations of computer science. If you need to know an algorithm for hashing, sorting, searching, binary arithmetic, and on and on, this is the place to find it.

• Compilers: Principles, Techniques, and Tools
  Alfred Aho, Ravi Sethi, Jeffrey Ullman
  Addison-Wesley, 1986, ISBN 0-201-10088-6 hbk
  
  This is the standard reference book on compilers and translators. Also known as the "red dragon" book.

• Applied Cryptography
  Protocols, Algorithms, and Source Code
  Second Edition
  Bruce Schneier
  John Wiley & Sons, 1996, ISBN 0-471-11709-9 pbk
  
  An extremely thorough covering of encryption algorithms and protocols and their practical implementation. This book could have been titled The Joy of Cryptography.

• Object-Oriented Software Construction
  Bertrand Meyer
  Prentice-Hall, 1988, ISBN 0-13-629031-0 pbk
  
  A classic book on object-oriented programming. Meyer uses the Eiffel language to illustrate object-oriented concepts. The language has been revised somewhat since the book was written, but the concepts have not changed. This book serves as an antidote to those who claim that C++ is a complete object-oriented language, and addresses many issues that the ANSI C++ committee has dealt with only recently.

• Building Large Knowledge-Based Systems
  Douglas B. Lenat, R. V. Guha
  Addison-Wesley, 1990, ISBN 0-201-51752-3 hbk
  
  Describes the representational and ontological problems encountered on the Cyc artificial intelligence project (at the University of Texas at Austin) and their solutions. The Cyc project is a massive knowledge database of over ten million "common sense" facts that humans use in everyday life.

Programming

• Code Complete
  A Practical Handbook of Software Construction
  Steven McConnell
  Microsoft Press, 1993, ISBN 1-55615-484-4 pbk
  
  An extremely well-written and thorough treatment of program construction (which is another term for programming). This is a must read for every programmer and also for every software manager. I agree with 99% of what McConnell says; this is the book I wish I had written.

• Programming Pearls
  Second Edition
  Jon Bentley
  Addison-Wesley, 2000, ISBN 0-201-65788-0 pbk
  

  More Programming Pearls
  Confessions of a Coder
  Jon Bentley
  Addison-Wesley, 1988, ISBN 0-201-11889-0 pbk
  
  Bentley wrote a series of columns in the Communications of the ACM and then collected them into these books. He covers all the classic programming activities, including hashing, sorting, searching, and code tuning. They also make great references; the sections on binary search and heapsort alone are worth the price of the book. The second edition of the first volume has updated chapters and a few new topics. A must read for every programmer.

• Programming On Purpose
  Essays on Software Design
  P. J. Plauger
  P T R Prentice-Hall, 1993, ISBN 0-13-721374-3 pbk
  
  

  Programming On Purpose II
  Essays on Software People
  P. J. Plauger
  P T R Prentice-Hall, 1993, ISBN 0-13-328105-1 pbk
  
  

  Programming On Purpose III
  Essays on Software Technology
  P. J. Plauger
  P T R Prentice-Hall, 1994, ISBN 0-13-328113-2 pbk
  
  These are Plauger's collections of the columns he wrote for Computer Language magazine. He covers many areas of programming, software management, and production. A must read for programmers and recommended for managers.

• The Elements of Programming Style
  Second Edition
  Brian Kernighan, P. J. Plauger
  McGraw-Hill, 1978, ISBN 0-07-034207-5 pbk
  
  One of the first books by this pair of authors, covering many aspects of good programming style. Some of the examples may seem dated at first glance since they are written in FORTRAN and PL/1, but the principles espoused are just as valid today as they were then.

• GOTO Statement Considered Harmful
  Egsder Dijkstra
  Communications of the ACM, 11(3), Mar 1968
  
  Often misquoted, this is the seminal paper that clarified the concept of structured programming and its various control structures.

  Modern programming dogma has embraced the myth that goto in and of itself is evil, but it is enlightening to read the original tract and realize that this dogmatic belief entirely misses the point.

  This paper was written at a time when the accepted way of programming was to code loops, if-thens, and other control structures by hand using goto statements. In retrospect, Dijkstra did not mean that all uses of goto were bad, but rather that superior control structures existed that, when used properly, would eliminate almost entrely the need for such unbridled and archaic programming techniques.

  I have a more in-depth analysis of Dijkstra's letter at: david.tribble.com/text/goto.html.

• The Tao of Programming
  Geoffrey James
  InfoBooks, 1987, ISBN 0-931137-07-1 pbk
  

  The Zen of Programming
  Geoffrey James
  InfoBooks, 1988, ISBN 0-931137-09-8 pbk
  
  Wonderful books for programmers. They make good introductions to Tao and Zen as well.

• C: A Reference Manual
  Fourth Edition
  Samuel P. Harbison, Guy L. Steele Jr.
  Prentice-Hall, 1995, ISBN 0-13-326224-3 pbk
  
  This is an excellent reference on the C language and library.

• The Standard C Library
  P. J. Plauger
  Prentice Hall P T R, 1991, ISBN 0-13-131509-9 pbk
  
  This contains the text of the ANSI/ISO standard on the C library, along with actual implementation examples.

• The Design and Evolution of C++
  Bjarne Stroustrup
  Addison-Wesley, 1994, ISBN 0-201-54330-3 pbk
  
  A historical perspective of the design of the C++ language, which sheds light on how and why the features of the language were invented and why some were left out. Also explains some of the features destined for next releases.

• C++: The Complete Reference
  Second Edition
  Herbert Schildt
  McGraw-Hill, 1995, ISBN 0-07-882123-1 pbk
  
  A very good reference on C++. It belongs in every C++ programmer's library. !-- REMOVED -->

• The Draft Standard C++ Library
  P. J. Plauger
  Prentice Hall P T R, 1995, ISBN 0-13-117003-1 pbk
  
  This is the standard reference on the evolving C++ standard library.

• The Standard C++ Template Library
  P. J. Plauger (editor)
  Prentice Hall P T R, 2000, ISBN 0-13-437633-1 pbk
  
  This is the standard reference on the evolving C++ standard library.

Humor

• The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
  Douglas Adams
  Ballantine Books, 19??, ISBN 0-345-41891-3 pbk
  
  The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
  Douglas Adams
  Pocket Books, 1980, ISBN 0-671-70160-6 pbk
  
  Life, the Universe, and Everything
  Douglas Adams
  Pocket Books, 1982, ISBN 0-671-66495-6 pbk
  
  So Long, and Thanks For All the Fish
  Douglas Adams
  Pocket Books, 1984, ISBN 0-671-66493-X pbk
  
  Mostly Harmless
  Douglas Adams
  Pocket Books, 1992, ISBN 0-345-37933-0 pbk
  
  The five books of the "Hitchhikers Guide" trilogy.

  Adams will be sorely missed.

• (Several novels)
  Terry Pratchett
  
  Called "the Douglas Adams of fantasy".

• The Definitive Biography of P.D.Q. Bach
  Prof. Peter Schikele
  Random House, 1976, ISBN 0-394-73409-2 pbk
  
  Wonderfully hilarious. The authoritative biographical of the far less than illustrious composer P.D.Q. Bach, the last and least of J.S. Bach's children.

• Bored of the Rings
  A Parody of J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings"
  Henry N. Beard, Douglas C. Kenney of the Harvard Lampoon
  A Signet Book / New American Library, 1969, 451-W7054 pbk
  
  Wonderfully hilarious. This is also, surprisingly, a good introduction to Tolkien.

Back to my home page at: david.tribble.com.
You can email me at: david@tribble.com.

This document: http://david.tribble.com/text/biblio.html