Books Recommended by Donald Knuth
A Dual Autobiography
Will Durant
Source: "Superbly written, a great story about how a man and woman can work creatively and sustainably together despite the mysteries of the human sex drive." - Donald Knuth
Blacklist
Sara Paretsky
Source: "A brilliant characterization of the tragic state of politics and class relations in America that also happens to be an action-packed murder mystery." - Donald Knuth
Feynman
Jim Ottaviani
Source: "Vivid, witty, hilarious, poignant: I laughed, I cried, I learned; demonstrates the unreasonable effectiveness of a graphic novel." - Donald Knuth
America
A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction
Jon Stewart
Source: "Has graffiti even better than the marginal notes in 'Concrete Mathematics.'" - Donald Knuth
Blasphemy
Douglas Preston
Source: "The best novel to deal with 'science versus religion' that I've ever encountered." - Donald Knuth
Mountains Beyond Mountains
The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World
Tracy Kidder
Source: "About how Paul Farmer's local and global life combines theory and practice." - Donald Knuth
Efronia
An Armenian Love Story
Stina Katchadourian
Source: "Diaries and letters of a remarkable Armenian woman." - Donald Knuth
The Travels of Ibn Battutah
Ibn Battutah
Source: "Fascinating and eye-opening journal by a 14th-century Muslim scholar." - Donald Knuth
The Hornet's Nest
A Novel of the Revolutionary War
Jimmy Carter
Source: "A revolutionary novel about the Revolutionary War at all levels." - Donald Knuth
The Golden Gate
Vikram Seth
Source: "The Great California Novel, entirely in 14-line sonnets." - Donald Knuth
Lifeline Rule
Doug Nufer
Source: "The rule: parity to vowel; an awesome conovowel opus." - Donald Knuth
Food
An Authoritative and Visual History and Dictionary of the Foods of the World
Waverley Root
Source: "His magnum opus, a wonderful history of everything delicious." - Donald Knuth
Death of a Salesperson
And Other Untimely Exits
Robert Barnard
Source: "[The author] is at his best in short stories like these." - Donald Knuth
The Age of Faith
A History of Medieval Civilization - Christian, Islamic, and Judaic - From Constantine to Dante
Will Durant
Source: "Volume 4 of his series, covers the years 325--1300." - Donald Knuth
The Haj
Leon Uris
Source: "Great to read on a trip to Israel." - Donald Knuth
The Abominable Man
A Martin Beck Police Mystery
Maj Sjöwall
Source: "One of their brilliantly Swedish detective novels." - Donald Knuth
Hackers
Heroes of the Computer Revolution
Steven Levy
Source: "Incredibly well written tale of our times." - Donald Knuth
Life
A User's Manual
Georges Perec
Source: "Perhaps the greatest 20th century novel." - Donald Knuth
Gaudy Night
Lord Peter Wimsey, Book 12
Dorothy L. Sayers
Source: "Captures Oxford high-table small-talk wonderfully." - Donald Knuth
The Man Who Knew Infinity
A Life of the Genius Ramanujan
Robert Kanigel
Source: "Biographies of Ramanujan and Hardy." - Donald Knuth
FAQ
Did Donald Knuth recommend all these books?
Not necessarily. This book list has Donald Knuth must-read recommendations, but it also has a mix of mentions and suggestions.
How do you know Donald Knuth mentioned these books?
Every suggestion made by Donald Knuth is validated by our editors. You can find the sources to the recommendations linked next to the books.
Did Donald Knuth actually create this list?
No. This reading list was curated by our editors based on confirmed mentions from Donald Knuth, the sources are made available under each recommendation.
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