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Ask HN: Petzold's CODE: books that teach in the same way but not about computers

46 points by user0x1d ↗ HN
I recently finished reading this book and I can't express how much it added to my life. I wondered if there are similar books in terms of 'way of teaching' out there - smoothly, humorously describing a tough subject.

12 comments

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volfied
I have really enjoyed CODE as well, and I recently started reading Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari

Completely different subject, taught in a way it builds up.

monroewalker
I actually just finished that book last night. I enjoyed it, but its accuracy seems dubious. There are some good links to problems in the book in this thread: https://amp.reddit.com/r/AskAnthropology/comments/jqqovm/is_...

Still worth reading imo. Reading the book and then reading about its errors seems as good a way of any as getting a big picture view of human history.

GoldenMonkey
Sapiens is great! And the audio version is enjoyable.
austinprete
As a disclaimer I haven't read CODE, even though it's been on my list for a while (sounds like I ought to prioritize it!).

From my understanding of the style I believe The Gene: An Intimate History by Siddhartha Mukherjee is a similar take on genetics.

It stays fairly high level as it doesn't require a molecular biology degree, but Mukherjee gives a fantastic primer on many of the concepts in genetics in a deeply interesting and human fashion. It's always refreshing when non-fiction books manage to weave a narrative throughout in a way that feels natural.

imakwana
Inside the Machine: An Illustrated Introduction to Microprocessors and Computer Architecture by Jon Stokes.
pjungwir
I've read Code. I also liked Financial Statements by Thomas R. Ittelson. It has a similar tutorial-like approach.
user0x1d
Truly loved Financial Statements. It's exactly what I was looking for. Do you have any other book recommendations? Be it 'tutorial-like' approach or other
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jml7c5
I really loved CODE. Some of these suggestions are more similar to it than others, but they are all worth reading or viewing:

-"Gödel, Escher, Bach" by Douglas Hofstadter is more whimsical and meandering, but has a similar technique of building from the ground up.

-"The Code Book" by Simon Singh is more of a history book, but it has some of the same "feel" in the progression of complexity, even if it will not truly teach you much cryptography.

-The Feynman lectures on physics, which are probably as close as you'll get in tone: https://www.feynmanlectures.caltech.edu/

-And this is a video, not a book, but it stands out to me as a fantastic piece of science communication that is worthy of mention: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKqof77pKBc (34C3 - Free Electron Lasers)

jbjbjbjb
I’ll mention QED by Richard Feynman. It has a sort of similar style but my memory of it is a bit hazy.
lmarcos
The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood. Book by James Gleick