Why am I passionate about this?

As a computer science professor and educator, my teaching motto is Rigor and Vigor. I believe that the only way to learn something deeply, whether it's an abstract mathematical argument or a complex computer system – is building the thing from the ground up, from first principles. That's the rigor. The second requirement – vigor – comes from the need to make this learning experience captivating, rewarding, empowering. I spent much of my career developing books, courses, and games that help learn computer science and mathematics with gusto. I am pleased that this work has had an impact, and that it resonates with many students and self-learners around the world.


I wrote

Book cover of The Elements of Computing Systems: Building a Modern Computer from First Principles

What is my book about?

The best way to understand how computers work is to build one from the ground up. That’s exactly what you’ll…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software

Shimon Schocken Why did I love this book?

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.

By Charles Petzold,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Code as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

What do flashlights, the British invasion, black cats, and seesaws have to do with computers? In CODE, they show us the ingenious ways we manipulate language and invent new means of communicating with each other. And through CODE, we see how this ingenuity and our very human compulsion to communicate have driven the technological innovations of the past two centuries.

Using everyday objects and familiar language systems such as Braille and Morse code, author Charles Petzold weaves an illuminating narrative for anyone who's ever wondered about the secret inner life of computers and other smart machines.

It's a cleverly illustrated…


Book cover of Computer Organization and Design RISC-V Edition: The Hardware Software Interface

Shimon Schocken Why did I love this book?

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.

By David A. Patterson, John L. Hennessy,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Computer Organization and Design RISC-V Edition as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Computer Organization and Design RISC-V Edition: The Hardware Software Interface, Second Edition, the award-winning textbook from Patterson and Hennessy that is used by more than 40,000 students per year, continues to present the most comprehensive and readable introduction to this core computer science topic. This version of the book features the RISC-V open source instruction set architecture, the first open source architecture designed for use in modern computing environments such as cloud computing, mobile devices, and other embedded systems. Readers will enjoy an online companion website that provides advanced content for further study, appendices, glossary, references, links to software tools,…


Book cover of The Innovators

Shimon Schocken Why did I love this book?

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.

By Walter Isaacson,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked The Innovators as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Following his blockbuster biography of Steve Jobs, The Innovatorsis Walter Isaacson's story of the people who created the computer and the Internet. It is destined to be the standard history of the digital revolution and a guide to how innovation really works.

What talents allowed certain inventors and entrepreneurs to turn their disruptive ideas into realities? What led to their creative leaps? Why did some succeed and others fail?

In his exciting saga, Isaacson begins with Ada Lovelace, Lord Byron's daughter, who pioneered computer programming in the 1840s. He then explores the fascinating personalities that created our current digital revolution,…


Book cover of Computer Systems: A Programmer's Perspective

Shimon Schocken Why did I love this book?

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.

By Randal E. Bryant, David R. O'Hallaron,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Computer Systems as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

&>standalone product; MasteringEngineering (R) does not come packaged with this content. If you would like to purchase both the physical text and MasteringEngineering search for 0134123832 / 9780134123837 Computer Systems: A Programmer's Perspective plus MasteringEngineering with Pearson eText - Access Card Package, 3/e

Package consists of:

013409266X/9780134092669 Computer Systems: A Programmer's Perspective, 3/e 0134071921/9780134071923 MasteringEngineering with Pearson eText -- Standalone Access Card -- for Computer Systems: A Programmer's Perspective, 3/e

MasteringEngineering should only be purchased when required by an instructor.

For courses in Computer Science and Programming

Computer systems: A Programmer's Perspective explains the underlying elements common among all computer…


Book cover of Chip War: The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology

Shimon Schocken Why did I love this book?

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.

By Chris Miller,

Why should I read it?

8 authors picked Chip War as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

***Winner of the Financial Times Business Book of the Year award***

'Pulse quickening. A nonfiction thriller - equal parts The China Syndrome and Mission Impossible' New York Times

An epic account of the decades-long battle to control the world's most critical resource-microchip technology

Power in the modern world - military, economic, geopolitical - is built on a foundation of computer chips. America has maintained its lead as a superpower because it has dominated advances in computer chips and all the technology that chips have enabled. (Virtually everything runs on chips: cars, phones, the stock market, even the electric grid.) Now…


Explore my book 😀

Book cover of The Elements of Computing Systems: Building a Modern Computer from First Principles

What is my book about?

The best way to understand how computers work is to build one from the ground up. That’s exactly what you’ll do in this book’s hands-on journey, also known as Nand to Tetris. Starting with the most elementary logic gate, Nand, you will build a general-purpose computer system capable of running Tetris, and any other program. The computer’s hardware platform will be built using a Hardware Description Language, and its software stack – assembler, compiler, and a virtual machine – can be built in any programming language, following our specifications. You will also build a basic OS. The book has no prerequisites, except for basic programming skills: All the necessary knowledge and tools for building the computer system is given in the book’s chapters, projects, and website. 

Book cover of Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software
Book cover of Computer Organization and Design RISC-V Edition: The Hardware Software Interface
Book cover of The Innovators

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By J. Shep,

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Why am I passionate about this?

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What is my book about?

"an intense narrative of family and intangible inheritance. . .this novel unfolds like a fragrant, steeped tea." -Chanticleer Book Reviews, 5 Stars

"like a glorious sunrise, we are gifted the 'après,' the hope and goodness of 'after me.'" -Maria Giuseppa, author of R&R:  A Feast of Words

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When Ellande and Madeleine-Grace visit the family summer house on the Alabaster Coast of Normandy for the first time without their parents, they find themselves growing aware of the importance of their…

After Me

By J. Shep,

What is this book about?

A man in France receives a package from America containing an autobiographical manuscript relating the events of a summer long ago.

When Ellande and Madeleine-Grace visit the family summer house on the Alabaster Coast of Normandy for the first time without their parents, they find themselves growing aware of the importance of their parents' choices in raising them. Under the care of their beloved Aunt Adèle, they explore their heritage and what their parents stood for while determining the value of customs and traditions of both family and France's stunning Pays de Caux. In the face of cruelty, carelessness, and…


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