Fans pick 100 books like Linked

By Albert-laszlo Barabasi,

Here are 100 books that Linked fans have personally recommended if you like Linked. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Book cover of Creativity: The Psychology of Discovery and Invention

Julio Mario Ottino Author Of The Nexus: Augmented Thinking for a Complex World--The New Convergence of Art, Technology, and Science

From my list on the intersection of complexity, art, technology, and science.

Why am I passionate about this?

Art, technology, and science…I have been seamlessly traversing domains all my life. I grew up with twin interests in physical sciences and visual arts, finding beauty in math and art and seeing creativity as being one thing rather than something living in compartments. Art influenced my research in chaos and complexity, and blurring boundaries characterized my work as dean of engineering when creating educational/research initiatives in design, art, entrepreneurship, energy, and sustainability. I also received visible external recognition as a Guggenheim Fellow and member of both the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Sciences, as well as the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Julio's book list on the intersection of complexity, art, technology, and science

Julio Mario Ottino Why did Julio love this book?

This book will capture your imagination and dazzle your senses with deep scholarship.

Deep exploration of creative outputs at their maximum states, the state of “flow”, condensing Csikszentmihalyi’s thirty years of research and nearly one hundred interviews with exceptionally creative people, spanning science, business, and art, in all of their dimensions. Creativity in art, technology, and science, perceived by many as being different types of creativity, revealed, at its core, to be the same.

By Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

“Although the benefits of this study to scholars are obvious, this thought-provoking mixture of scholarly and colloquial will enlighten inquisitive general readers, too.” —  Library Journal (starred review)

The classic study of the creative process from the bestselling author of Flow.

Creativity is about capturing those moments that make life worth living. Legendary psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (“The leading researcher into ‘flow states.’”  — Newsweek) reveals what leads to these moments—be it the excitement of the artist at the easel or the scientist in the lab—so that this knowledge can be used to enrich people's lives. Drawing on nearly one hundred…


Book cover of Critical Mass: How One Thing Leads to Another

Julio Mario Ottino Author Of The Nexus: Augmented Thinking for a Complex World--The New Convergence of Art, Technology, and Science

From my list on the intersection of complexity, art, technology, and science.

Why am I passionate about this?

Art, technology, and science…I have been seamlessly traversing domains all my life. I grew up with twin interests in physical sciences and visual arts, finding beauty in math and art and seeing creativity as being one thing rather than something living in compartments. Art influenced my research in chaos and complexity, and blurring boundaries characterized my work as dean of engineering when creating educational/research initiatives in design, art, entrepreneurship, energy, and sustainability. I also received visible external recognition as a Guggenheim Fellow and member of both the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Sciences, as well as the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Julio's book list on the intersection of complexity, art, technology, and science

Julio Mario Ottino Why did Julio love this book?

This book will educate you and show how ideas are connected to each other.

Could there be social science laws? What did social science borrow from physics and math? And, more surprisingly, what physics borrowed from social science when disciplines were just emerging? Complex systems serve as a backdrop for many of the stories. The history of science is far from rectilinear. That’s what makes the story fascinating.

By Philip Ball,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Is there a 'physics of society'? Philip Ball's investigation into human nature ranges from Hobbes and Adam Smith to modern work on traffic flow and market trading, across economics, sociology and psychology. Ball shows how much of human behaviour we can understand when we cease trying to predict and analyse the behaviour of individuals and look to the impact of hundreds, thousands or millions of individual human decisions, in circumstances in which human beings both co-operate and conflict, when their aggregate behaviour is constructive and when it is destructive. By perhaps Britain's leading young science writer, this is a deeply…


Book cover of Massive Change: A Manifesto for the Future of Global Design

Julio Mario Ottino Author Of The Nexus: Augmented Thinking for a Complex World--The New Convergence of Art, Technology, and Science

From my list on the intersection of complexity, art, technology, and science.

Why am I passionate about this?

Art, technology, and science…I have been seamlessly traversing domains all my life. I grew up with twin interests in physical sciences and visual arts, finding beauty in math and art and seeing creativity as being one thing rather than something living in compartments. Art influenced my research in chaos and complexity, and blurring boundaries characterized my work as dean of engineering when creating educational/research initiatives in design, art, entrepreneurship, energy, and sustainability. I also received visible external recognition as a Guggenheim Fellow and member of both the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Sciences, as well as the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Julio's book list on the intersection of complexity, art, technology, and science

Julio Mario Ottino Why did Julio love this book?

This book will inspire you, make you see possibilities, and widen your thinking.

The back cover’s proclamation, “It is not about the world of design, it is about the design of world”, says it all. The design of this book itself opened new frontiers; text and images interspersed as they had never been seen before, intertwining technologies, inventions, and pivotal events that are affecting humanity worldwide.

By Bruce Mau, Institute without Boundaries, Jennifer Leonard

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Massive Change is a modern, illustrated primer on the new inventions, technologies, and events that are affecting the human race worldwide. This book is part of a broader research project by Bruce Mau Design, intended to provoke debate and discussion about the future of design culture - defined generally as the 'familiar objects and techniques that are transforming our lives'.

Through an original selection of essays, interviews and provocative imagery aimed at a broad audience, Massive Change explores the changing forces of design in the contemporary world and, from this angle, expands the definition of design to include the built…


Book cover of Lumen Naturae: Visions of the Abstract in Art and Mathematics

Julio Mario Ottino Author Of The Nexus: Augmented Thinking for a Complex World--The New Convergence of Art, Technology, and Science

From my list on the intersection of complexity, art, technology, and science.

Why am I passionate about this?

Art, technology, and science…I have been seamlessly traversing domains all my life. I grew up with twin interests in physical sciences and visual arts, finding beauty in math and art and seeing creativity as being one thing rather than something living in compartments. Art influenced my research in chaos and complexity, and blurring boundaries characterized my work as dean of engineering when creating educational/research initiatives in design, art, entrepreneurship, energy, and sustainability. I also received visible external recognition as a Guggenheim Fellow and member of both the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Sciences, as well as the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Julio's book list on the intersection of complexity, art, technology, and science

Julio Mario Ottino Why did Julio love this book?

This book will dazzle you. How is it that someone can see these seemingly hidden connections between math and modern art?

Modern mathematics and physics are on one side, modern art is on the other, and concepts of space, randomness, and even the universe itself are explored, with one side illuminating the other. A good number of the art pieces presented are from the author herself, which adds another layer of credibility to the entire presentation.

By Matilde Marcolli,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Exploring common themes in modern art, mathematics, and science, including the concept of space, the notion of randomness, and the shape of the cosmos.

This is a book about art—and a book about mathematics and physics. In Lumen Naturae (the title refers to a purely immanent, non-supernatural form of enlightenment), mathematical physicist Matilde Marcolli explores common themes in modern art and modern science—the concept of space, the notion of randomness, the shape of the cosmos, and other puzzles of the universe—while mapping convergences with the work of such artists as Paul Cezanne, Mark Rothko, Sol LeWitt, and Lee Krasner. Her…


Book cover of Managing Chaos: Digital Governance by Design

Abby Covert Author Of How to Make Sense of Any Mess: Information Architecture for Everybody

From my list on for becoming a stronger sensemaker.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am an information architect, writer, and community organizer on a mission to make information architecture education accessible to everybody. I started practicing IA in pure pursuit of stronger visual design, but in the two decades since have developed an insatiable appetite for understanding and teaching the practical skills that make people better sensemakers, regardless of their role or medium. The books I chose for this list are all foundational to me becoming the sensemaker that I am today. I offer them as suggestions because they are not the books you will find should you search for “Information Architecture” yet they have all become my go-to recommendations for helping others to strengthen their own sensemaking.

Abby's book list on for becoming a stronger sensemaker

Abby Covert Why did Abby love this book?

You might not think of excitement when you hear the words “Digital Governance” but I can assure you that this book is a real page-turner…especially if your job involves managing large-scale information messes. There is a special kind of chaos that only information and knowledge workers can understand and this book paints a picture so many of us have seen in practice but in a way that leaves the reader inspired to fight another day, instead of wallowing in a sea of information-induced self-pity.

I recommend this book because I have seen too many information architecture efforts die on the vine due to a lack of good governance. The frameworks and recommendations in this book mean I always have a playbook to hand to teams in need.

By Lisa Welchman,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Few organizations realize a return on their digital investment. They’re distracted by political infighting and technology-first solutions. To reach the next level, organizations must realign their assets—people, content, and technology—by practicing the discipline of digital governance. Managing Chaos inspires new and necessary conversations about digital governance and its transformative power to support creativity, real collaboration, digital quality, and online growth.


Book cover of Hacking: The Art of Exploitation

Nora Sandler Author Of Writing a C Compiler: Build a Real Programming Language from Scratch

From my list on systems and system failures for programmers.

Why am I passionate about this?

I love computers, and especially computer systems. I’m interested in how different pieces of hardware and software, like processors, operating systems, compilers, and linkers, work together to get things done. Early in my career, as a software security tester, I studied how different components interacted to find vulnerabilities. Now that I work on compilers, I focus on the systems that transform source code into a running program. I’m also interested in how computer systems are shaped by the people who build and use them—I believe that creating safer, more reliable software is a social problem as much as a technical one.

Nora's book list on systems and system failures for programmers

Nora Sandler Why did Nora love this book?

One of the best ways to understand how software works is to study how it fails. When I was just starting my career in software security, I read this book to learn about binary exploits like buffer overflows. It’s been a long time since I’ve written a binary exploit, but digging into the nitty-gritty, low-level details of how software runs on a real system has helped with everything I’ve done as an engineer since.

A lot has changed since this book was published in 2008 (and running the accompanying Live CD has gotten trickier), but the fundamental concepts are as relevant as ever.

By Jon Erickson,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Hacking is the art of creative problem solving, whether that means finding an unconventional solution to a difficult problem or exploiting holes in sloppy programming. Many people call themselves hackers, but few have the strong technical foundation needed to really push the envelope. Rather than merely showing how to run existing exploits, author Jon Erickson explains how arcane hacking techniques actually work. To share the art and science of hacking in a way that is accessible to everyone, Hacking: The Art of Exploitation, 2nd Edition introduces the fundamentals of C programming from a hacker's perspective. The included LiveCD provides a…


Book cover of A People's History of Computing in the United States

Joanne McNeil Author Of Lurking: How a Person Became a User

From my list on the origins of the tech industry.

Why am I passionate about this?

Joanne McNeil has written about internet culture for over fifteen years. Her book considers the development of the internet from a user's perspective since the launch of the World Wide Web. Her interest in digital technology spans from the culture that enabled the founding of major companies in Silicon Valley to their reception in broader culture.

Joanne's book list on the origins of the tech industry

Joanne McNeil Why did Joanne love this book?

A thorough look at the origins of personal computing and connections between computer users beginning in the 1960s that highlights the BASIC programming language and The Oregon Trail game. Shines a light on the role that universities and the education system played in fostering networks between users.

By Joy Lisi Rankin,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A People's History of Computing in the United States as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Silicon Valley gets all the credit for digital creativity, but this account of the pre-PC world, when computing meant more than using mature consumer technology, challenges that triumphalism.

The invention of the personal computer liberated users from corporate mainframes and brought computing into homes. But throughout the 1960s and 1970s a diverse group of teachers and students working together on academic computing systems conducted many of the activities we now recognize as personal and social computing. Their networks were centered in New Hampshire, Minnesota, and Illinois, but they connected far-flung users. Joy Rankin draws on detailed records to explore how…


Book cover of Practice of Cloud System Administration, The: DevOps and SRE Practices for Web Services, Volume 2

Yevgeniy Brikman Author Of Fundamentals of DevOps and Software Delivery: A Hands-On Guide to Deploying and Managing Software in Production

From my list on practical, hands-on books on DevOps and software delivery.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve spent more than a decade working on infrastructure, from my early days at LinkedIn, where we had to do a massive DevOps transformation to save the company, to co-founding Gruntwork, where I had the opportunity to work with hundreds of companies on their software delivery practices. From all of this, I can say the following with certainty: the DevOps best practices that a handful of the top tech companies have figured out are not filtering down to the rest of the industry. This is making the entire software industry slower, less effective, and less secure—and I see it as my mission to fix that.

Yevgeniy's book list on practical, hands-on books on DevOps and software delivery

Yevgeniy Brikman Why did Yevgeniy love this book?

This book felt like a chance to sit with a few experienced Ops people and hear their war stories.

The book is full of concrete, actionable learnings that are essential for running software, including operational requirements (e.g., configuration, draining, hot swaps, feature toggles, graceful degradation, etc.), software architecture (e.g., three-tier web service, four-tier web service, load balancing models etc.), scaling patterns (e.g., horizontal duplication, service splits, caching, etc.), resiliency patterns (software vs hardware resiliency, spare capacity, failure domains, etc.), and much more.

I loved being able to pick up decades of experience and hard-won knowledge by just flipping through a few pages of a book! 

By Thomas Limoncelli, Strata Chalup, Christina Hogan

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Practice of Cloud System Administration, The as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"There's an incredible amount of depth and thinking in the practices described here, and it's impressive to see it all in one place."

-Win Treese, coauthor of Designing Systems for Internet Commerce

The Practice of Cloud System Administration, Volume 2, focuses on "distributed" or "cloud" computing and brings a DevOps/SRE sensibility to the practice of system administration. Unsatisfied with books that cover either design or operations in isolation, the authors created this authoritative reference centered on a comprehensive approach.

Case studies and examples from Google, Etsy, Twitter, Facebook, Netflix, Amazon, and other industry giants are explained in practical ways that…


Book cover of Infrastructure as Code: Dynamic Systems for the Cloud Age

Yevgeniy Brikman Author Of Fundamentals of DevOps and Software Delivery: A Hands-On Guide to Deploying and Managing Software in Production

From my list on practical, hands-on books on DevOps and software delivery.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve spent more than a decade working on infrastructure, from my early days at LinkedIn, where we had to do a massive DevOps transformation to save the company, to co-founding Gruntwork, where I had the opportunity to work with hundreds of companies on their software delivery practices. From all of this, I can say the following with certainty: the DevOps best practices that a handful of the top tech companies have figured out are not filtering down to the rest of the industry. This is making the entire software industry slower, less effective, and less secure—and I see it as my mission to fix that.

Yevgeniy's book list on practical, hands-on books on DevOps and software delivery

Yevgeniy Brikman Why did Yevgeniy love this book?

This is a book for practitioners, by a practitioner, full of practical learnings that I was able to start using in my work immediately.

I especially appreciated the parts teaching the core principles of infrastructure as code (e.g., systems are disposable, consistent, can easily be reproduced, etc.), core practices of infrastructure as code (e.g., use definition files, self-documented systems and processes, version all the things, etc.), and the idea of antifragile systems (rather than just systems that you prevent from breaking) and autonomic systems (rather than just automated systems).

By Kief Morris,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Six years ago, Infrastructure as Code was a new concept. Today, as even banks and other conservative organizations plan moves to the cloud, development teams for companies worldwide are attempting to build large infrastructure codebases. With this practical book, Kief Morris of ThoughtWorks shows you how to effectively use principles, practices, and patterns pioneered by DevOps teams to manage cloud-age infrastructure.

Ideal for system administrators, infrastructure engineers, software developers, team leads, and architects, this updated edition demonstrates how you can exploit cloud and automation technology to make changes easily, safely, quickly, and responsibly. You'll learn how to define everything as…


Book cover of Agile Application Security: Enabling Security in a Continuous Delivery Pipeline

Adam Shostack Author Of Threat Modeling: Designing for Security

From my list on application security for builders.

Why am I passionate about this?

Being able to understand and change reality through our knowledge and skill is literal magic. We’re building systems with so many exciting and unexpected properties that can be exploited and repurposed for both good and evil. I want to keep some of that magic and help people engineer – build great systems that make people’s lives better. I’ve been securing (and breaking) systems, from operating rooms to spaceships, from banks to self-driving cars for over 25 years. The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that if security is not infused from the start, we’re forced to rely on what ought to be our last lines of defense. This list helps you infuse security into your systems.

Adam's book list on application security for builders

Adam Shostack Why did Adam love this book?

When I worked in application security at Microsoft, we still had products that shipped every few years. I learned to scale application security in that world, but many people live in a different world now. AAS helped me understand which of our approaches translated well, which had to be transformed, and which needed to be discarded or replaced. I regularly refer back to it, even a few years later.

By Laura Bell, Michael Brunton-Spall, Rich Smith , Jim Bird

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Agile Application Security as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Agile continues to be the most adopted software development methodology among organizations worldwide, but it generally hasn't integrated well with traditional security management techniques. And most security professionals aren't up to speed in their understanding and experience of agile development. To help bridge the divide between these two worlds, this practical guide introduces several security tools and techniques adapted specifically to integrate with agile development.

Written by security experts and agile veterans, this book begins by introducing security principles to agile practitioners, and agile principles to security practitioners. The authors also reveal problems they encountered in their own experiences with…


Book cover of Creativity: The Psychology of Discovery and Invention
Book cover of Critical Mass: How One Thing Leads to Another
Book cover of Massive Change: A Manifesto for the Future of Global Design

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