11 books like Enterprise Integration Patterns

By Gregor Hohpe, Bobby Woolf,

Here are 11 books that Enterprise Integration Patterns fans have personally recommended if you like Enterprise Integration Patterns. Shepherd is a community of 11,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of The Software Architect Elevator: Redefining the Architect's Role in the Digital Enterprise

Mark Richards Author Of Fundamentals of Software Architecture: An Engineering Approach

From my list on better understanding software architecture.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been a software architect for a very long time. I love hard problems, and I’m very passionate about collaborating with others to find the right solution to them. Software architecture is a challenging, multi-faceted discipline with very few resources to help you make the right decisions. That’s why I’m recommending these books on software architecture. These books helped me become a more effective software architect, and I hope they can help you become more effective as well.

Mark's book list on better understanding software architecture

Mark Richards Why did Mark love this book?

It is my belief that half of being an effective software architect is mastering people skills.

However soft they are, these skills are the hardest to master. This book focuses on the communication and soft skills necessary to become an effective architect, and it does it superbly. The author’s elevator metaphor is perfect in that it emphasizes the fact that communication must exist on all levels within the organization, and the skills needed at each level differ.

I personally found this book very useful in honing my communication skills as a software architect.

By Gregor Hohpe,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Software Architect Elevator as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

As the digital economy changes the rules of the game for enterprises, the role of software and IT architects is also transforming. Rather than focus on technical decisions alone, architects and senior technologists need to combine organizational and technical knowledge to effect change in their company's structure and processes. To accomplish that, they need to connect the IT engine room to the penthouse, where the business strategy is defined.

In this guide, author Gregor Hohpe shares real-world advice and hard-learned lessons from actual IT transformations. His anecdotes help architects, senior developers, and other IT professionals prepare for a more complex…


Book cover of A Practical Guide to Enterprise Architecture

Mark Richards Author Of Fundamentals of Software Architecture: An Engineering Approach

From my list on better understanding software architecture.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been a software architect for a very long time. I love hard problems, and I’m very passionate about collaborating with others to find the right solution to them. Software architecture is a challenging, multi-faceted discipline with very few resources to help you make the right decisions. That’s why I’m recommending these books on software architecture. These books helped me become a more effective software architect, and I hope they can help you become more effective as well.

Mark's book list on better understanding software architecture

Mark Richards Why did Mark love this book?

This book was very influential in my career as a software architect because it was the first “technical” book I read that finally focused on the people and leadership skills of being an architect.

It was also the first book I read that made me start to think more about the intersection of agile and architecture, something they also devote an entire chapter to. While a bit outdated in today’s world, the authors hit the nail on the head with the still-relevant chapters on thought leadership, agility, and software architecture modeling.   

By James McGovern, Scott W. Ambler, Michael E. Stevens , James Linn , Vikas Sharan , Elias K. Jo

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Practical Guide to Enterprise Architecture as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In A Practical Guide to Enterprise Architecture, six leading experts present indispensable technical, process, and business insight into every aspect of enterprise architecture. You'll find start-to-finish guidance for architecting effective system, software, and service-oriented architectures; using product lines to streamline enterprise software design; leveraging powerful agile modeling techniques; extending the Unified Process to the full software lifecycle; architecting presentation tiers and user experience; and driving the technical direction of the entire enterprise. For every working architect and every IT professional who wants to become one.


Book cover of 97 Things Every Software Architect Should Know

Mark Richards Author Of Fundamentals of Software Architecture: An Engineering Approach

From my list on better understanding software architecture.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been a software architect for a very long time. I love hard problems, and I’m very passionate about collaborating with others to find the right solution to them. Software architecture is a challenging, multi-faceted discipline with very few resources to help you make the right decisions. That’s why I’m recommending these books on software architecture. These books helped me become a more effective software architect, and I hope they can help you become more effective as well.

Mark's book list on better understanding software architecture

Mark Richards Why did Mark love this book?

Imagine sitting in a room with 50 of the top software architects in the world and have each of them tell you some brief words of advice about being a software architect.

Welcome to “97 Things Every Software Architect Should Know”. Each 2-page spread features a top software architect offering their advice on some aspect of software architecture. From technical skills to soft skills, this book has it all.

This book is a must-read if you are a software architect, or even thinking about becoming one.

By Richard Monson-Haefel,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked 97 Things Every Software Architect Should Know as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Collective Wisdom from the Experts


Book cover of Just Enough Software Architecture: A Risk-Driven Approach

Mark Richards Author Of Fundamentals of Software Architecture: An Engineering Approach

From my list on better understanding software architecture.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been a software architect for a very long time. I love hard problems, and I’m very passionate about collaborating with others to find the right solution to them. Software architecture is a challenging, multi-faceted discipline with very few resources to help you make the right decisions. That’s why I’m recommending these books on software architecture. These books helped me become a more effective software architect, and I hope they can help you become more effective as well.

Mark's book list on better understanding software architecture

Mark Richards Why did Mark love this book?

Why should you spend so much time working on the software architecture of a system? Does it really matter?

This book made me realize that not all systems need the same effort of software architecture to make them successful. If you’re building a doghouse, very little planning is needed—all you need is some wood, nails, a hammer, and a saw. If you are building a skyscraper, you need a significant amount of planning and architecture, or the building will collapse.

In this book the author also talks about risk-based architecture—determining how much architecture is needed based on risk, a perspective I found very helpful in my career as an architect. 

By George Fairbanks,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Just Enough Software Architecture as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This is a practical guide for software developers, and different than other software architecture books. Here's why:

It teaches risk-driven architecting. There is no need for meticulous designs when risks are small, nor any excuse for sloppy designs when risks threaten your success. This book describes a way to do just enough architecture. It avoids the one-size-fits-all process tar pit with advice on how to tune your design effort based on the risks you face.

It democratizes architecture. This book seeks to make architecture relevant to all software developers. Developers need to understand how to use constraints as guiderails that…


Book cover of The Master Switch: the Rise and Fall of Information Empires

Tom Wheeler Author Of From Gutenberg to Google: The History of Our Future

From my list on today’s roadmap to tomorrow.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have been fortunate to have spent the last 40 years of my professional life dealing with new networks and new technology. From the early days of cable television and mobile communications to the development of digital video and the transmission of data over cable lines and satellite. It was a career topped off with the privilege of being the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) with regulatory responsibly for approximately 1/6th of the American economy (on which the other 5/6s depended). 

Tom's book list on today’s roadmap to tomorrow

Tom Wheeler Why did Tom love this book?

Columbia Law Professor and recently departed White House advisor Tim Wu looks at the evolution of the information industry.

While written in 2011, Master Switch describes the technological and corporate developments that have brought us to today’s information age and all its corporate and civil challenges. I love the historical stories he uses and how they are really not that different from contemporary developments. 

By Tim Wu,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Master Switch as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The Internet Age: on the face of it, an era of unprecedented freedom in both communication and culture. Yet in the past, each major new medium, from telephone to satellite television, has crested on a wave of similar idealistic optimism, before succumbing to the inevitable undertow of industrial consolidation. Every once free and open technology has, in time, become centralized and closed; as corporate power has taken control of the 'master switch.' Today a similar struggle looms over the Internet, and as it increasingly supersedes all other media the stakes have never been higher.

Part industrial expose, part examination of…


Book cover of The Mathematical Theory of Communication

Chris Conlan Author Of Algorithmic Trading with Python: Quantitative Methods and Strategy Development

From my list on mathematics for quant finance.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a financial data scientist. I think it is important that data scientists are highly specialized if they want to be effective in their careers. I run a business called Conlan Scientific out of Charlotte, NC where me and my team of financial data scientists tackle complicated machine learning problems for our clients. Quant trading is a gladiator’s arena of financial data science. Anyone can try it, but few succeed at it. I am sharing my top five list of math books that are essential to success in this field. I hope you enjoy.

Chris' book list on mathematics for quant finance

Chris Conlan Why did Chris love this book?

While studying computer networks, Claude Shannon did something pretty impressive. He reformulated the majority of classical statistics from scratch using the language and concepts of computer science. 

Statistical noise? There’s a new word for that; it’s called entropy. Also, it turns out it is a good thing, not a bad thing because entropy is equal to the information content or a data set. Tired of minimizing the squared error of everything? That’s fine, minimize the log of its likelihood instead. It does the same thing. This book challenges the assumptions of classical statistics in a way that fits neatly in the mind of a computer scientist. As a quant trader, this book will help you understand and measure the information content of data, which is critical to your success.

By Claude E. Shannon, Warren Weaver,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Mathematical Theory of Communication as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Scientific knowledge grows at a phenomenal pace--but few books have had as lasting an impact or played as important a role in our modern world as The Mathematical Theory of Communication, published originally as a paper on communication theory more than fifty years ago. Republished in book form shortly thereafter, it has since gone through four hardcover and sixteen paperback printings. It is a revolutionary work, astounding in its foresight and contemporaneity. The University of Illinois Press is pleased and honored to issue this commemorative reprinting of a classic.


Book cover of Understanding Cryptography: A Textbook for Students and Practitioners

Dominik Merli Author Of Engineering Secure Devices: A Practical Guide for Embedded System Architects and Developers

From my list on embedded system security enthusiasts.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been playing with computers and electronics since childhood. I even supported the people in my village with their computer issues back then. During my studies in electrical engineering, I learned how to solve technical challenges with structured approaches. At this time, I became fascinated by topics like cryptography and embedded system security. The books on this list helped me understand important concepts and practical real-world obstacles. I hope they are also of value to you!

Dominik's book list on embedded system security enthusiasts

Dominik Merli Why did Dominik love this book?

When I first heard about cryptography at university, it sounded like mathematical magic. After looking into some randomly chosen crypto books, I was discouraged from digging deeper because they were full of math details.

Understanding Cryptography was different. It was aimed at engineering students like me, and it provided me with the most relevant facts necessary for designing secure devices. Since then, it has always been a great reference book for me.

By Christof Paar, Jan Pelzl,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Cryptography is now ubiquitous - moving beyond the traditional environments, such as government communications and banking systems, we see cryptographic techniques realized in Web browsers, e-mail programs, cell phones, manufacturing systems, embedded software, smart buildings, cars, and even medical implants. Today's designers need a comprehensive understanding of applied cryptography.

After an introduction to cryptography and data security, the authors explain the main techniques in modern cryptography, with chapters addressing stream ciphers, the Data Encryption Standard (DES) and 3DES, the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), block ciphers, the RSA cryptosystem, public-key cryptosystems based on the discrete logarithm problem, elliptic-curve cryptography (ECC), digital…


Book cover of The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation

Howie Singer Author Of Key Changes: The Ten Times Technology Transformed the Music Industry

From my list on innovators and innovation.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve spent my entire professional life dealing with how technology impacts business. I started out writing code to improve the operations of retail stores and factories. I managed teams developing products from videophones to cellphones. I’ve had a front-row seat to the evolution of the music business, from selling CDs to streaming files to billions of fans. These experiences provided the background for writing a book about tech disruption in the music business, starting with the phonograph and leading to Generative AI. The books on this list gave me the broader historical perspective I needed and the context to understand how other industries dealt with their own seismic changes.

Howie's book list on innovators and innovation

Howie Singer Why did Howie love this book?

A few weeks after completing my PhD at Cornell University, I walked into my first real job as a Member of Technical Staff at Bell Laboratories. I stayed there for 20 years. Gertner’s book describes that storied institution and how it provided the fertile ground for so many innovators to thrive, from the creators of the transistor to the discoverers of the Big Bang. 

My favorite chapter covered the development of mobile telephone networks. Yes, it is an interesting tale, but for me, the best part was that I knew and worked with several of the key players in that story during my career there.

By Jon Gertner,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

From its beginnings in the 1920s until its demise in the 1980s, Bell Labs-officially, the research and development wing of AT&T-was the biggest, and arguably the best, laboratory for new ideas in the world. From the transistor to the laser, from digital communications to cellular telephony, it's hard to find an aspect of modern life that hasn't been touched by Bell Labs.

In The Idea Factory, Jon Gertner traces the origins of some of the twentieth century's most important inventions and delivers a riveting and heretofore untold chapter of American history. At its heart this is a story about the…


Book cover of Working-Class Network Society: Communication Technology and the Information Have-Less in Urban China

Margaret Hillenbrand Author Of On the Edge: Feeling Precarious in China

From my list on the cultural lives of China’s migrant workers.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a professor of Chinese studies, and I’m especially interested in what the close study of culture can reveal about aspects of contemporary Chinese life that are usually dominated by the perspectives of historians, sociologists, anthropologists, and political scientists. I’m fascinated not so much by how cultural practices reflect social change but by how they sometimes make it happen, particularly in societies where overt political action is blocked. As my book picks show, I’m intrigued by the inventiveness and drive of people who create culture, often new forms of culture, under conditions of oppression, exploitation, and duress.

Margaret's book list on the cultural lives of China’s migrant workers

Margaret Hillenbrand Why did Margaret love this book?

This book made a big impact on me because it shifts the study of culture in working-class China from familiar genres such as poetry to the vast domain of the digital.

Qiu argues that a working-class network society has taken firm shape in 21st-century China, made up of migrants, laid-off workers, retired people, young people, and small-scale entrepreneurs. In one sense, these people are the “information have-less” because they belong to the social classes typically on the wrong side of the digital divide.

But Qiu’s book shows that cheap internet access and extensive cell phone penetration in China have enabled the “have-less” to create class identity through their use of information technology. From community-building to memory-making, the book really nuanced my understanding of digital networks as a transformatively cultural force.

By Jack Linchuan Qiu,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Working-Class Network Society as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

An examination of how the availability of low-end information and communication technology has provided a basis for the emergence of a working-class network society in China.

The idea of the “digital divide,” the great social division between information haves and have-nots, has dominated policy debates and scholarly analysis since the 1990s. In Working-Class Network Society, Jack Linchuan Qiu describes a more complex social and technological reality in a newly mobile, urbanizing China. Qiu argues that as inexpensive Internet and mobile phone services become available and are closely integrated with the everyday work and life of low-income communities, they provide a…


Book cover of Proof Of Stake: The Making of Ethereum and the Philosophy of Blockchains

Andrew Chow Author Of Cryptomania: Hype, Hope, and the Fall of Ftx's Billion-Dollar Fintech Empire

From my list on understanding crypto in 2024.

Why am I passionate about this?

Crypto’s rollercoaster journey has given rise to some of the most thrilling real-life tales of the last two decades. These tales teem with personal drama and reveal much larger truths: about our fractured global moment, about the ripple effects of well-intentioned technological systems, and about the massive divide between how we want society to function and how it actually does. 

As much as some people wish it dead, crypto is not going away any time soon. Many of its followers have adopted a religious-like belief that it will transform humanity and bring unlimited wealth to its followers; others simply believe it to be a good investment. Their collective trust in these strange digital currencies means that crypto will continue to shape the world in unpredictable ways. 

Andrew's book list on understanding crypto in 2024

Andrew Chow Why did Andrew love this book?

Crypto’s perhaps most important thinker is Vitalik Buterin, the 30-year-old founder of the blockchain Ethereum. Buterin is not only a technological savant but also a deft philosopher and political theorist; he is driven by the desire to improve not just financial systems but many other unjust structures in the world.

This collection of essays over a decade shows Buterin’s maturation as his ingenious ideas collide with harsh realities. 

By Vitalik Buterin, Nathan Schneider (editor),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Proof Of Stake as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The new book from one of TIME's 2021 most influential people
Author was in Forbes 30 Under 30 Hall of Fame

"A crucial contribution to development of a new technology that will impact all of our lives.” –Laura Shin, host of the Unchained podcast and author of The Cryptopians: Idealism, Greed, Lies, and the Making of the First Big Cryptocurrency Craze

“Vitalik Buterin is one of the most influential creators of our generation....Like most of his work, it is sure to become a must-read.”–Camila Russo, author of The Infinite Machine, founder of The Defiant

The ideas behind Ethereum in the…


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