My favorite books on how computers work, and how they are built

This popular book takes a broad perspective that surveys the main physical and logical layers from which all digital devices are made.

I like the accessible writing style, aimed at lay readers, and the book’s companion website, where one can experiment interactively with many of the artifacts described in the book. The second edition includes a new section that focuses on a functional subset of Intel 8080, the microprocessor that ushered the personal computing revolution, and the instruction set used by many PCs and servers today.

Computer architectures have historically followed two paradigms: CISC (Complex Instruction Set Computing) and its later contender RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computing).

RISC processors, which presently power most smartphones, tablets, and IoT devices, were pioneered by Cocke, and later by Patterson and Hennessy – all winners of the Turing Award. Patterson and Hennessy’s classical book series Computer Organization and Design became the go-to textbooks in many academic computer architecture courses.

When reading these books, I enjoy the direct connection with the architects of the systems described. And, I appreciate the numerous insights about compilation, systems, and engineering at large, and the generous and balanced comparisons with competing, non-RISC architectures.

At the end, it’s all about people: The hackers, geniuses, geeks, hippies, and revolutionaries who pioneered the computers and networks that underly modern life. Hailing from home garages, hacker clubs, corporate research centers, university labs, and other, less-expected settings, these innovators had bold dreams and unique execution abilities.

Written by one of America’s greatest biographers, this book describes the historical background and personal drama that drove the digital revolution, unprecedented in its scope and versatility. Isaacson is a passionate narrator and a master expositor. The Innovators covers an astonishing range of hardware and software innovations, as well as the birth of the Internet, and video games.

I admire Isaacson’s ability to describe abstract ideas and complex technologies in a language that is at once accessible, accurate, and gripping.

This weighty tome delves deep into the low-level working of computer programs.

This book is a great resource for professional programmers who work close to the machine in such fields as embedded software, cybersecurity, and device drivers. Assuming a basic knowledge of the C language, Bryant and O’Hallaron, two CMU professors, teach how to read and understand compiled code, how to optimize it for better performance, and how to avoid common pitfalls.

This is a hard-core technical book, written by engineers for engineers, in a dense style that is nonetheless accessible and practical. I like the numerous applied problems, each accompanied by a worked-out solution.

In recent years, the prowess to design and produce computer chips became a geo-political weapon, in the same league of fossil oil and natural gas. Yet unlike oil and gas, the core natural resource necessary for building chips is human capital.

That’s how a small country like Taiwan became not only the main player in the world’s chip industry, but also the hotspot of the escalating conflict between the USA and China. In Chip War, Chris Miller provides a panoramic view of this world-encompassing paradigm shift.

Miller describes the crucial role that chips play in modern warfare, the essential ingredients of bold innovation and human drive, and the catalytic influence of governments and access to capital.