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Donald Knuth Recommended Books
Donald Knuth has recommended 24 books. Browse the complete reading list with quotes and sources below.
Donald Knuth is an American computer scientist, mathematician, and professor emeritus at Stanford University.
(Read more on Wikipedia)24 Books Recommended
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Hackers
Heroes of the Computer Revolution
by Steven Levy
"Incredibly well written tale of our times." - Donald Knuth (Source)
Also recommended by
4 people
Ev Williams recommended this bookEv Williams
On the "books read" section of Ev Williams' GoodReads profile.
Ev Williams's recommendation of this book 
Zooko Wilcox recommended this bookZooko Wilcox
"This book changed my life when it came out. [...] It made me want to be a hacker. But not a criminal — a hero of the computer revolution." - Zooko Wilcox
Zooko Wilcox's recommendation of this book 
Austen Allred recommended this bookAusten Allred
"[One of] my favorite books for understanding the history of Silicon Valley." - Austen Allred
Austen Allred's recommendation of this book 
John Carmack recommended this bookJohn Carmack
"A really formative book for me as a teenager." - John Carmack
John Carmack's recommendation of this book
Feynman
by Jim Ottaviani
"Vivid, witty, hilarious, poignant: I laughed, I cried, I learned; demonstrates the unreasonable effectiveness of a graphic novel." - Donald Knuth (Source)
Blasphemy
Wyman Ford, Book 2
by Douglas Preston
"The best novel to deal with 'science versus religion' that I've ever encountered." - Donald Knuth (Source)
Lifeline Rule
by Doug Nufer
"The rule: parity to vowel; an awesome conovowel opus." - Donald Knuth (Source)
The Travels of Ibn Battutah
by Ibn Battutah
"Fascinating and eye-opening journal by a 14th-century Muslim scholar." - Donald Knuth (Source)
Life
A User's Manual
by Georges Perec
"Perhaps the greatest 20th century novel." - Donald Knuth (Source)
On Food and Cooking
The Science and Lore of the Kitchen
by Harold McGee
"Applied biochemistry in the kitchen." - Donald Knuth (Source)
Also recommended by
2 people
Samin Nosrat recommended this bookSamin Nosrat
"This explains everything. Literally. I am so grateful to [the author] for his tirelessness, his patience, and his commitment to answering the whys of the kitchen." - Samin Nosrat
Samin Nosrat's recommendation of this book 
Chris Young recommended this bookChris Young
"My career starts with [this book] in many ways. There wouldn’t be any of this modern cooking movement without [this book], I don’t think." - Chris Young
Chris Young's recommendation of this book
A Dual Autobiography
by Will Durant
"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 (Source)
The Man Who Knew Infinity
A Life of the Genius Ramanujan
by Robert Kanigel
"Biographies of Ramanujan and Hardy." - Donald Knuth (Source)
Also recommended by
2 people
Paul Graham recommended this bookPaul Graham
"Great biography of Ramanujan." - Paul Graham
Paul Graham's recommendation of this book 
Balaji Srinivasan recommended this bookBalaji Srinivasan
Balaji Srinivasan recommended this book in "The Almanack of Balaji Srinivasan."
Balaji Srinivasan's recommendation of this book
Murder In The Museum Of Man
by Alfred Alcorn
"Delicious caricature of academic follies." - Donald Knuth (Source)
Food
An Authoritative and Visual History and Dictionary of the Foods of the World
by Waverley Root
"His magnum opus, a wonderful history of everything delicious." - Donald Knuth (Source)
America
A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction
by Jon Stewart
"Has graffiti even better than the marginal notes in 'Concrete Mathematics.'" - Donald Knuth (Source)
The Haj
by Leon Uris
"Great to read on a trip to Israel." - Donald Knuth (Source)
The Hornet's Nest
A Novel of the Revolutionary War
by Jimmy Carter
"A revolutionary novel about the Revolutionary War at all levels." - Donald Knuth (Source)
Marjorie Morningstar
by Herman Wouk
"In-depth characters plus a whole philosophy." - Donald Knuth (Source)
The Golden Gate
by Vikram Seth
"The Great California Novel, entirely in 14-line sonnets." - Donald Knuth (Source)
Blacklist
V.I. Warshawski, Book 11
by Sara Paretsky
"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 (Source)
The Age of Faith
A History of Medieval Civilization - Christian, Islamic, and Judaic - From Constantine to Dante
by Will Durant
"Volume 4 of his series, covers the years 325--1300." - Donald Knuth (Source)
Efronia
An Armenian Love Story
by Stina Katchadourian
"Diaries and letters of a remarkable Armenian woman." - Donald Knuth (Source)
Death of a Salesperson and Other Untimely Exits
by Robert Barnard
"[The author] is at his best in short stories like these." - Donald Knuth (Source)
The Abominable Man
Martin Beck, Book 7
by Maj Sjöwall
"One of their brilliantly Swedish detective novels." - Donald Knuth (Source)
Gaudy Night
Lord Peter Wimsey, Book 12
by Dorothy L. Sayers
"Captures Oxford high-table small-talk wonderfully." - Donald Knuth (Source)
An Instance of the Fingerpost
by Iain Pears
"Also Oxford but in the 1660s." - Donald Knuth (Source)
Mountains Beyond Mountains
The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World
by Tracy Kidder
"About how Paul Farmer's local and global life combines theory and practice." - Donald Knuth (Source)
Also recommended by
5 people
Bill Gates recommended this bookBill Gates
List of books Bill Gates read in 2011.
Bill Gates's recommendation of this book 
Jeff Dean recommended this bookJeff Dean
"I really enjoyed [this book]." - Jeff Dean
Jeff Dean's recommendation of this book 
Patrick O'Shaughnessy recommended this bookPatrick O'Shaughnessy
"If you care about health care, philanthropy, drive, or success, read this book." - Patrick O'Shaughnessy
Patrick O'Shaughnessy's recommendation of this book 
Rainn Wilson recommended this bookRainn Wilson
"A biography of the great doctor, teacher and humanitarian, Paul Farmer." - Rainn Wilson
Rainn Wilson's recommendation of this book 
Richard Branson recommended this bookRichard Branson
Richard Branson recommended this book on his "70 must-read books" blog post.
Richard Branson's recommendation of this book
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Richard Reis
Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.
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Anurag Ramdasan
Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.
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