Top Computer Science 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 Computer Science books – and here are the answers.

Table of Contents

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 Pragmatic Programmer

The main qualities of what the authors refer to as a pragmatic programmer are being an early adopter, to have fast adaptation, inquisitiveness and critical thinking, realism, and being a jack-of-all-trades.

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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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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.

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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 Dummies is like having a starter programming library all in one handy, if beefy, book.

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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 machine translation.

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Cracking the coding interview

"Cracking the Coding Interview" presents problems requiring versatile reasoning and proposes multiple solution approaches. It encourages readers to develop multiple solutions for each problem. The book provides explanations, example problems, and solutions to solve coding interview questions related to these topics.

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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

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.

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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 and Coding, an essential new title with the potential to run hand-in-hand with—or even outrun—Math (ov…

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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.

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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.

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Refactoring

Refactoring is improving or updating code without changing its external function or nonfunctional attributes. Refactoring cleans up the nonfunctional elements of software, making it easier to maintain, extend, integrate, align with evolving standards, and continue performing at acceptable speeds.

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Introduction to Algorithms

Introduction to Algorithms uniquely combines rigor and comprehensiveness. It covers a broad range of algorithms in depth, yet makes their design and analysis accessible to all levels of readers, with self-contained chapters and algorithms in pseudocode.

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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 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 influential book in 1999 to help their clients create better software and rediscover the joy of coding.…

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