Top Computer Science books curated by experts

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

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Top Computer Science books recommended by experts
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Fundamentals of Computer Science

Understanding the concepts of Computer Science 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.

The Self-taught Programmer: The Definitive Guide to Programming Professionally

The Self-taught Programmer: The Definitive Guide to Programming Professionally

"The Self-taught Programmer" is a roadmap, a guide to take you from writing your first Python program, to passing your first technical interview. I divided the book into five sections: 1. Learn to program in Python 3 and build your first program.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Algorithms to Live By: The Computer Science of Human Decisions

Algorithms to Live By: The Computer Science of Human Decisions

Algorithms to Live By' by Brian Christian and Tom Griffiths explores how we can use algorithms from computer science to make better decisions in our daily lives. It offers practical insights on how to optimize time, prioritize tasks, and make choices with the help of an algorithmic approach.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software

Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software

Previously undocumented, these 23 patterns allow designers to create more flexible, elegant, and ultimately reusable designs without having to rediscover the design solutions themselves. The authors begin by describing what patterns are and how they can help you design object-oriented software.<…

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Gödel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid

Gödel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid

Gödel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid, also known as GEB, is a 1979 book by Douglas Hofstadter. By exploring common themes in the lives and works of logician Kurt Gödel, artist M. C. Escher, and composer Johann Sebastian Bach, the book expounds concepts fundamental to mathematics, symmetr…

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Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach

Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach

“Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach” goes beyond the basics and delves into advanced topics in AI. It covers natural language processing, an area concerned with enabling computers to understand and generate human language. The book explores techniques for parsing, semantic analysis, and …

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Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software

Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software

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.

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Additional Computer Science Reading

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

Computer Systems: A Programmer's Perspective

Computer Systems: A Programmer's Perspective

This book focuses on the key concepts of basic network programming, program structure and execution, running programs on a system, and interaction and communication between programs. For anyone interested in computer organization and architecture as well as computer systems.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Introduction to the Theory of Computation

Introduction to the Theory of Computation

Theory of computation deals with developing mathematical models of computation. This area of research is divided into three subareas: complexity theory, computability theory and automata theory. We mostly review basic structures of automata theory which are languages and finite state automata in…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Everything You Need to Ace Computer Science and Coding in One Big Fat Notebook: The Complete Middle School Study Guide (Big Fat Notebooks)

Everything You Need to Ace Computer Science and Coding in One Big Fat Notebook: The Complete Middle School Study Guide (Big Fat Notebooks)

Released just three years ago, The Big Fat Notebooks revolutionized the study guide for middle schoolers, and students, parents, and teachers responded—the series has nearly 4 million copies in print with sales escalating every year. Now introducing Everything You Need to Ace Computer Science an…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship

Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship

Even bad code can function. But if code isn’t clean, it can bring a development organization to its knees. Every year, countless hours and significant resources are lost because of poorly written code. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
Noted software expert Robert C. Martin, presents a revo…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Practical Programming: An Introduction to Computer Science Using Python 3.6

Practical Programming: An Introduction to Computer Science Using Python 3.6

The authors of "Practical Programming: An Introduction to Computer Science Using Python 3.6" make clear the distinction between programming and computer science. This book offers an introduction to both, but will take the novice much further down the path of computer programming.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Beginning Programming All-In-One Desk Reference for Dummies

Beginning Programming All-In-One Desk Reference for Dummies

So you want to be a programmer? Or maybe you just want to be able to make your computer do what YOU want for a change? Maybe you enjoy the challenge of identifying a problem and solving it. If programming intrigues you for whatever reason, Beginning Programming All In One Desk Reference For Dumm…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Specializations and Deeper Computer Science Knowledge

You've got your basics in order – time to move on to some advanced and specialized concepts. Computer Science is evolving every day, these books can help you master it.

The Pragmatic Programmer: Your Journey To Mastery, 20th Anniversary Edition (2nd Edition)

The Pragmatic Programmer: Your Journey To Mastery, 20th Anniversary Edition (2nd Edition)

The Pragmatic Programmer is one of those rare tech books you’ll read, re-read, and read again over the years. Whether you’re new to the field or an experienced practitioner, you’ll come away with fresh insights each and every time.
Dave Thomas and Andy Hunt wrote the first edition of this inf…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

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