Top Backend books recommended by experts

At MentorCruise, we are all about making the most out of the experience of others. As part of that, we've connected and asked dozens of experts and professionals about their favourite Backend books – and here are the answers.

Table of Contents

Fundamentals of Backend

Understanding the concepts of Backend starts with understanding the fundamentals. On your way to mastery, it's crucial for you to understand how certain concepts were derived, and why things work like they do. Starting with these resources is the best way to do so.

Microservice APIs

Microservice APIs teaches you practical techniques for designing robust microservices with APIs that are easy to understand, consume, and maintain. You'll benefit from author José Haro Peralta's years of experience experimenting with microservices architecture, dodging pitfalls and learning from mistakes he's made. Inside you'll find strategies for delivering successful API integrations, imple…

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Python Crash Course: A Hands-on, Project-based Introduction to Programming

If you've been thinking about learning how to code or picking up Python, this internationally bestselling guide to the most popular programming language is your quickest, easiest way to get started and go! Even if you have no experience whatsoever, Python Crash Course, 2nd Edition, will have you writing programs, solving problems, building computer games, and creating data visualizations in no…

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Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship

Noted software expert Robert C. Martin, presents a revolutionary paradigm with Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship. Martin, who has helped bring agile principles from a practitioner’s point of view to tens of thousands of programmers, has teamed up with his colleagues from Object Mentor to distill their best agile practice of cleaning code “on the fly” into a book that will …

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Designing Data-Intensive Applications: The Big Ideas Behind Reliable, Scalable, and Maintainable Systems

In this practical and comprehensive guide, author Martin Kleppmann helps you navigate this diverse landscape by examining the pros and cons of various technologies for processing and storing data. Software keeps changing, but the fundamental principles remain the same. With this book, software engineers and architects will learn how to apply those ideas in practice, and how to make full use of…

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Eloquent JavaScript: A Modern Introduction to Programming

JavaScript lies at the heart of almost every modern web application, from social apps like Twitter to browser-based game frameworks like Phaser and Babylon. Though simple for beginners to pick up and play with, JavaScript is a flexible, complex language that you can use to build full-scale applications.
This much anticipated and thoroughly revised third edition of Eloquent JavaScript dives …

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Building Microservices: Designing Fine-Grained Systems

Microservice technologies are moving quickly. Author Sam Newman provides you with a firm grounding in the concepts while diving into current solutions for modeling, integrating, testing, deploying, and monitoring your own autonomous services. Youâ??ll follow a fictional company throughout the book to learn how building a microservice architecture affects a single domain.

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Additional Backend Reading

These books are not required for you to learn Backend, but they are highly recommended for you to deepen your knowledge.

Designing Data-Intensive Applications

Data is at the center of many challenges in system design today. Difficult issues need to be figured out, such as scalability, consistency, reliability, efficiency, and maintainability. In addition, we have an overwhelming variety of tools, including relational databases, NoSQL datastores, stream or batch processors, and message brokers. What are the right choices for your application? How do …

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