Artificial Life: A Report from the Frontier Where Computers Meet Biology Steven Levy 1992 Vintage Books 0-679-74389-8 2002-06 348 I purchased this book to entertain myself during a business trip to Portland, Oregan. Actually, I hadn't planned on buying anything, I just wondered into Powell's Books to kill some time. I ran across this classic in the computer section, after browsing a few pages, I decided that it was a must read. I was not dissappointed. Levy has a wonderful journalistic style that was amusing, educational, and easily digestable. I killed this one in two days, with about 6 hours of straight reading -- I am not a power reader, it was just that good. Any one who is interested in a historical perspective of the developement of A-Life, and its impact on AI, robotics, and other fields should read this book. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0679743898 Artificial Intelligence: The Very Idea John Haugeland 1987 MIT Press 0-262-08153-9 2002-08 254 This was another book I walked out of Powell's with. I started this book immediately after finishing A-Life. This book is commonly used as a text book for courses dealing with philosophy of Artificial Intelligence. This book was not too terse, but was a very tedious read. Haugeland makes some very pointy arguments if your awake to catch them. I recommend this book as a foundation to course work in Artificial Intelligence. Do not expect to understand implementation of AI from this book, you will be let down. Basically this is a philosophy book -- take it with a grain of salt. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=breakingrobot-20&path=tg/detail/-/0262580950/ The Meme Machine Susan Blackmore 2000 Oxford University Press 0-192-86212-X 2002-07 288 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/019286212X All in all, I though this book presented the theory of the Meme very well. I was disapointed by Blackmore's lack of objectiveness toward's the end of the book. I frown on anyone that calls religion a "virus of the mind". I still recommend this book, simply because it will challenge you. Overall not a bad read, a little hard to finish. The Age of Spiritual Machines: When Computers Exceed Human Intelligence Ray Kurzweil 1999 Penguin Books 0-670-88217-8 2002-08 297 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140282025 This is another book that is hard to put down. Kurzweil spends the first of three sections developing the history of Artificial Intelligence. He thens moves into the section section two where he posses very serious questions about the current state of AI, and where it is/needs to go. Section three is deticated to the future of the world (basically), with Kurweil making wild predictions -- some extending well into the next millenia. The third section was intriguing, but nothing more than science-fiction, really. The first and second sections were thought provoking and informative. The Predictors: How a Band of Maverick Physiscists Used Chaos Theory to Trade Their Way to a Fortune on Wall Street Thomas A. Bass 1999 Henry Holt and Company 0-8050-5756-0 2002-09 307 Sometimes it seems that I only have positive things to say about the books I read :-) This is an exceptionally well written book. The language is engaging, the chapters are the right length, and if you have an interest in Wall Street, then the subject matter is sublime. I felt like I should start working on my own stock trading program as soon as I put this one down. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0805057579 The Little Prince Antoine de Saint-Exupery 1943 Harcourt 2003-01 98 This book is elementary and profound in the same breath. As I read this book I saw elements of myself and others in the characters. Read this book. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0156012197 Perl & LWP Sean M. Burke 2002 O'Reilly 2002-11 234 This is a utility book, if you are planning on writing any kind of screen-scraping application this book is a must have. It is also a killer introduction to web-bots and spiders. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0596001789 The Art of Deception Kevin Mitnick 2003 Wiley 2003-01 304 The first half of this book was excellent - anyone working in the security industry or related fields needs to read this. The second half was difficult to finish, the writing frankly wasn't great. Indeed, it was only carried through by the value of its content. I still highly recommend it. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0471237124 The Portable Nietzsche Walter Kaufmann 1954 The Viking Press 2004-07 687 I have spent the better part a year (or more) reading this; aside from reading, much time was spent mulling over the arguments of the work - as is necessary with thought provoking work such as this. Much of the work is profound and requires much seriousness to comprehend, and still much of the writing is offered as satyr. I half desire not to make any statements about Nietzche's work here, and yet feel compelled to. Nietzche is a mirror that one does not enjoy looking into often, and yet the experience offers much insight into essence of man to the extent that his writing is unavoidable. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140150625 A New Kind of Science Stephen Wolfram 2002 Stephen Wolfram, LLC reading 1197 Insightful, intellectually challenging, thought provoking, and inspiring. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=breakingrobot-20&path=tg/detail/-/1579550088 Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid Douglas R. Hofstadter 1989 Vintage Books reading 744 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0465026567 Tao Te Ching Lao Tzu Gia-Fu Feng and Jane English unknown 1989 Vintage Books 2003-05 81 Some very good philosophy contained in this small book. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0679776192 The Sound and the Fury William Faulkner 1929 Vintage Books 2003-09 336 Faulkner uses some very interesting literary style which benefits any reader. Over all I found the book confusing to follow and difficult to understand. The continual flashbacks and flash-forwards were confusing but served the authors intent and aided in constructing the mood of the main character. It is a modern classic, after all. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0679732241 We Yevgeny Zamyatin Mirra Ginsburg Russian 1920 0380633132 Eos 1999 256 2003-07 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0380633132 Wow! 1984 eat your heart out. I suspect that much of Russia's forbiden literature is as delightful, gripping, mentally challenging, and as complete as this book is. This should be standard reading for High School students. The Fountainhead Ayn Rand 1943 Signet Classics 2003-10 695 0-451-09956-7 I only wish I had read this book sooner - this is the highest praise that I can give. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0451191153 Great Writings of Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Various German Stephen Spender 1958 The New American Library 2003-10 278 The epigrams were delicious. Faust had gems here and there. The remaining writings are geared toward morale leasons, hence some of the reading (at least these translations) are drab. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0452005248 Plato Selections Plato Unknown Raphael Demos 1927 1963 Charles Scribner's Sons 2004-01 448 This translation has stood the test of time and with good reason. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=breakingrobot-20&path=tg/detail/-/0684143216/ Check Point Internet Security Solutions: Management I Various 2003 Check Point Software Technologies Ltd 2003-11 354 This was a technical manual ;)) Check Point Internet Security Solutions: Management II Various 2003 Check Point Software Technologies Ltd 2003-11 448 Yes, another technical manual. Siddhartha Hermann Hesse 1922 unknown Hilda Rosner German MJF Books 122 2003-11 1-56731-007-9 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0553208845 Heart of a Dog Mikhail Bulgakov Mirra Ginsburg Russian Grove Press 1925 2003 123 2003-11 0-8021-5059-4 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0802150594 Linked: How Everything Is Connected to Everything Else and What It Means for Business, Science, and Everyday Life Albert-Laszlo Barabasi Penguin Group 2002 279 2003-11 0-452-28439-2 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0452284392 Emergence: The Connected Lives of Ants, Brains, Cities, and Software. Steven Johnson Simon & Schuster 2001 264 2003-11 0-684-86876-8 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0684868768/qid=1070048499//ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i0_xgl14/002-7417999-0890462?v=glance&s=books&n=507846 Rumble Fish S.E. Hinton Bantam Doubleday Dell 1968 135 2003-12 0-440-97534-4 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0440975344/qid=1070447377//ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/002-7417999-0890462?v=glance&s=books&n=507846 Hidden Order: How Adaptation Builds Complexity John H. Holland Perseus Books 1995 172 2003-12 0-201-44230-2 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0201442302/qid=1072738285//ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i0_xgl14/002-1749583-0408060?v=glance&s=books&n=507846 Holland meanders between traditional AI constructs of rule bases before settling on the topic of modeling with genetic based agents.
Modeling, it should be clear, is an art form. It depends on the experience and taste of the modeler
... the one shining gem of knowledge. The first chapter also has some interesting ideas, but Holland sweeps them under the rug while trying to reconcile the condition-reaction approach with genetic programming; an informative read if not a little disappointing - I expected more from Holland. Small Pieces Loosely Joined: A Unified Theory of the Web David Weinberger Perseus Publishing 2002 196 2003-12 0-7382-0543-5 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00008NRGI/qid=1072738359/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-1749583-0408060?v=glance&s=books This was an interesting read, falling somewhere between philosophy and technology while revolving around the purpose and affects of the Internet on our society. I must say, I find reading books about technology written by "outsiders" intriguing; they raise questions about purpose, perception, knowledge, and existence that stoke my philosophical interests. Captains Courageous Rudyard Kipling The New American Library 1897 169 2003-12 0451523814 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0451523814/qid=1072910958//ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/002-1749583-0408060?v=glance&s=books&n=507846 Six Degrees: The Science of a Connected Age Duncan J. Watts W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 306 2003 2004-01 0-393-04142-5 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0393041425 Quite humorous:
Physicist tend to see themselves as the lords of the academic jungle, loftily regarding their own methods as above the ken of anybody else and jealously guarding their own terrain. But their alter egos are closer to scavengers, happy to borrow ideas and techniques from anywhere if they seem like they might be useful, and delighted to stomp all over someone else's problem. As irritating as this attitude can be to everybody else, the arrival of the physicists into a previously non-physics area of research often presages a period of great discovery and excitement. Mathematicians do the same thing occasionally, but no one descends with such fury and in so great a number as a pack of hungry physicists, adrenalized by the scent of a new problem
I have to argue that computer scientists probably match the flocking hungry hoards of physicists pound for pound. This book was excellent. It did a wonderful job of covering the topic fully from start to finish. Six Degrees deeply satisfied many of the areas that "Linked" titillated but left unabated. Mainly, I appreciated this book for clearly and precisely defining the relationship between Small Worlds and Scale Free networks, while introducing powerful real-world examples and dispelling the mystical shroud surrounding these topics by revealing the pure scientific methods on which the theories are built. Slaughterhouse-Five or The Children's Crusade: A Duty-Dance With Death Kurt Vonnegut Dell Publishing 215 1969 1991 2004-01 0-440-18029-5 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0440180295 Gripping if not strange. One of those mystical books that is riveting but not enjoyable, while maintaining an air of humor throughout. Very well done. The Catcher in the Rye J.D. Salinger Little, Brown and Company 214 1951 1991 2004-01 0316769487 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0316769487 Complexity: Life at the Edge of Chaos Roger Lewin The University of Chicago Press 0-226-47655-3 2004-01 1992 1999 222 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0226476553 Fahrenheit 451 Ray Bradbury Ballantine Books 1950 1991 178 0-345-34296-8 2004-01 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0345342968 Nexus: Small Worlds and the Groundbreaking Science of Networks Mark Buchanan W.W. Norton & Company 2002 208 2004-01 0-393-04153-0 After having read "Linked" and "Six Degrees", the beginning portion of this work was not impressive. I found it somewhat disappointing that Buchanan did not adopt the common terminology for the networks presented in "Linked": scale-free networks. Instead, he refers to them as Aristocratic Hierarchical networks. Still, his meaning was quite clear as he focused mostly on Small Worlds rather than their subset cousin the scale-free network. Past this, the book was primarily focused on sociological and economic networks, which I found intriguing. I ended with several ear-marked pages peppered throughout the second half of the book, and an ernest desire to follow up by reading several of the referenced material. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0393041530 LDAP Directories Explained: An Introduction and Analysis Brian Arkills Addison Wesley 2003 385 2004-02 0-201-78792-X http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/020178792X Brian's goal in writing the book was to provide newcomers with a good introduction to LDAP, and he did just that. This was a great book for gaining an appreciation for LDAP and an excellent starting point for anyone administering or programming LDAP for the first time. If you need an intro to LDAP, I recommend this book. Master and Margarita Mikhail Bulgakov 2004-02 Vintage Books 1940 372 Diana burgin & Katherine Tiernan O'Connor Russian 1995 Even in their translated forms, Bulgakov was a master. The key is his intricate plots, and expose of the human condition, especially that of his contemporary Russians. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0679760806 0-679-76080-6 Galapagos Kurt Vonnegut 2004-03 Dell Publishers 324 1985 1999 0-385-33387-0 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0385333870 The Old Man and the Sea Ernest Hemingway 2004-03 Charles Scribner's Sons 123 1952 684-71805-7 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0684801221 What can be said about this little book that hasn't already been said thousands of times before? This is a timeless classic drawing simple but powerful analogies on life. Eastern Standard Tribe Cory Doctorow 2004-03 254 2004 http://www.craphound.com/est/ This book represents some of the great things that can be done with the Creative Commons Licenses... the book is free - and good. My favorite quote is in chapter 21
"... engineers are all basically high-functioning autistics who have no idea how normal people do stuff."
The writing is contemporary and sometimes it is difficult to tell if the writer is describing scenes in London or in the U.S.A., however this kind of confusion flows along with the story line so no big complaints. Did I mention it's free?? and good? Green Hills of Africa Ernest Hemingway 2004-03 244 1935 1976 Penguin Books 0-684-80129-9 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0684801299 I've found Hemingway's writting easy and enjoyable, even in a book with no real point or plot to it, the language is earthly, smooth, and sanguine. The Stranger Albert Camus 123 2004-03 Matthew Ward French 1946 1989 0-679-72020-0 Vintage http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0679720200 Tragic. While considered very American in style during the period it was written, reading it now I think to myself "how French". Demian Hermann Hesse 141 2004-03 Micahel Roloff and Michael Lebeck German 1925 1970 0-060-93191-4 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0060931914 Bantam Books Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom Cory Doctorow 2004-04 2003 http://www.craphound.com/down/ 208 Tor Books 0-765-30953-X I liked "Eastern Standard Tribe" better... but reading multiple books by the same author gives you a since of the themes that they are working with. Cory is definitely considering the same themes in both books. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/076530953X The New Geography: How the Digital Revolution is Reshaping the American Landscape Joel Kotkin 2004-04 2001 Random House 189 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0375758321 0-375-75832-1 I've never read an author that enjoyed the word "epotimize[d]" more :) Still this was worth reading. The Good Earth Pearl S. Buck 2004-04 1931 1973 Washington Square Press 260 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0671510126 0-671-47226-7 The Fall Albert Camus Justin O'Brien French 2004-04 1956 1963 Vintage Books 0-679-72022-7 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0679720227 Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution Howard Rheingold http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0738206083 0-738-20608-3 Perseus Publishing 2002 2004-06 288 The book started off well enough, but didn't finish strongly. There was some interesting points made throughout the text, however I wouldn't recomend this one unless you are either seriously into sociology or a complete newbie to the scene. The Bridge Over The River Kwai Pierre Boulle French Xan Fielding http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0891905715 0-099-44502-6 Bantam Books 1954 1968 2004-06 150 Xan did a fabulous job of translating this novel. The style he choose for the English version was tailored very closely to that of Hemmingway. Good read. Los De Abajo Mariano Azuela (Mexican) Spanish E. Munguia, Jr. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0451526252 0-451-52625-2 The New American Library of World Literature, Inc. 1915 1968 2004-06 149 Across the River and Into the Trees Ernest Hemingway http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0684844648 0-684-84464-8 Dell Publishing Company 1950 2004-07 320 Snow Crash Neal Stephenson http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0553380958 0-553-56261-4 Bantam Books 1992 2004-07 468 Being Digital Nicholas Negroponte http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0679762906 0-679-76290-6 Vintage Books 1995 2004-07 247 A "classic" of Internet literature. It is interesting to see what has changed in ten years since Negroponte wrote this. Many of his predictions, of course, where widely fantastic, but some where more or less on the mark. Everyone In Silico Jim Munroe http://nomediakings.org/writing/free_ebook_released.html No Media Kings 2002 2004-07 335 Another excellent sci-fi novel released under the Creative Commons license. Life of Pi Yann Martel http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0156027321 0-15-602732-1 Harcount, Inc 2001 2004-08 319 The kind of book that is enjoyable to read, none the less leaves you with deep thoughts to chew on when you finish. The Sun Also Rises Ernest Hemingway http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0684800713 0-684-80071-3 Charles Scribner's Sons 1926 2003 2004-08 251 One Hundred Years of Solitude Gabriel Garcia Marquez Spanish Gregory Rabassa http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0060740450 0060740450 Perennial 1967 2004 2004-09 453 The Code Book: the Scince of Secrecy From Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography Simon Singh http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0385495323 0-385-49532-3 Anchor Books 2000 2004-11 350 The Turk: The Life and Times of the Famous Eighteenth-Century Chess-Playing Machine Tom Standage http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0425190390 0-425-19039-0 The Berkley Publishing Group 2002 2004-12 247 Wholeness: On Education, Buckminster Fuller, and Tao Alex Gerber, Jr. http://www.wholenessbook.com 0-9635367-1-0 Gerber Educational Resources 2001 2004-12 125 The Golden Ratio: the Story of Phi, the World's Most Astonishing Number Mario Livio http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0767908163 0-7679-0816-3 Broadway Books 2002 2004-12 253 For Whom the Bell Tolls Ernest Hemingway http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0684803356 0-684-80335-6 Scribner 1940 2004-12 471 The Essential Confucius Thomas Cleary http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0062502158 0-7858-0903-1 Castle Books 1993 2005-01 179 Tribes: How Race, Religion and Identity Determine Success in the New Global Economy Joel Kotkin http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0679752994 0-679-75299-4 Random House 1994 2005-01 262 Bucky Works: Buckminster Fuller's Ideas for Today J. Baldwin http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0471129534 0-471-19812-9 Wiley 1996 2005-01 228 Driving Mr. Albert: A Trip Across America With Einstein's Brain Micheal Paterniti http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/038533303X 0-385-33300-5 The Dial Press 2001 2005-01 207 The Computer and the Brain John von Neumann http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0300084730 0-300-08473-0 Yale Nota Bene 1958 2005-02 82 The Ant and the Elephant: Leadership for the Self Vince Poscente http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0974640352 0-974-64035-2 Corner Stone 2004 2005-02 115 Some nice insight on the strugle between the concious and unconcious mind and how to make them work together to achieve goals. I hesitate to say that it is written in the spirit of The Little Prince, but it is a parable. Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution Steven Levy http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0141000511 0-141-00051-1 Penguin Books 2001 2005-03 439 Crypto: How the Code Rebels Beat the Government - Saving Privacy in the Digital Age Steven Levy http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140244328 0-140-24432-8 Penguin Books 2002 2005-03 330 This one lacked some of the zeal that Levy usually exhibits in his writing. It was a B performance for him but still wonderful overall. On Intelligence Jeff Hawkins with Sandra Blakeslee http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0805074562 0-8050-7456-2 Times Books 2004 2005-03 235 The Virtue of Selfishness: A New Concept Of Egoism Ayn Rand http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0451163931 0-451-16393-1 Signet 1961 2005-04 144 Enigma Robert Harris http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0804115486 0-804-11548-6 Ballantine Books 1996 2005-04 372 A High Wind in Jamaica Richard Hughes http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0940322153 0-940-32215-3 Harper & Row 1928 191 2005-04 A Single Pebble John Hersey http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0394756975 0-394-75697-5 Bontam Books 1956 122 2005-04 Congo Michael Crichton http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0060541830 0-345-37849-0 Ballantine Books 1980 313 2005-05 Edison's Eve Gaby Wood http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0679451129 0-679-45112-9 Knopf 2002 266 2005-05 Certified Wireless Security Professional: Official Study Guide Gareth Hancock http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0072230126 0-072-23012-6 McGraw-Hill/Osborne 2003 430 2005-05 The Road Ahead: Living and Prospering in the Information Age Bill Gates, with Nathan Myhrvold & Peter Rinearson http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0670772895 0-670-77289-5 Viking 1995 286 2005-06 I just wanted to see what *the man* had to say 10 years ago. Some of his predictions were very optimistic, but most were modest and accurate. Of Men and War John Hersey Scholastic Book Services 1942 132 2005-06 STL Pocket Reference Ray Lischer http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0596005563 0-596-00556-3 O'Reilly 2003 105 2005-08 A good reference for STL programmers. Also has a nice review of some Boost containers and features. The Orchid Thief: A True Story of Beauty and Obsession (Audio Book) Susan Orlean http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/044900371X/ 0-449-00371-X Ballentine Books 2000 2005-09 Atlas Shrugged Ayn Rand http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0452011876 0452011876 Signet 1957 1074 2006-01 Fortune's Formula: The Untold Story of the Scientific Betting System That Beat the Casinos and Wall Street William Poundstone http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0809046377/ Hill and Wang 0-809-04637-7 2005 400 2006-02 Steppenwolf Hermann Hesse German Basil Creighton Joseph Mileck http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0312278675/ Bantam Books 0-553-11289-9 1929 248 2006-04 Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time (Audio Book) Dava Sobel http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0140258795/ Penguin 0-140-25879-5 1996 2006-04 The Life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Audiobook) Perry Keenlyside http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/9626341440/ Naxos Audiobooks 9-626-34144-0 1997 2006-04 The Boost Graph Library: User Guide and Reference Manual Jeremy G. Siek, Lie-Quan Lee, Andrew Lumsdaine http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0201729148/ Addison-Wesley 0-201-72914-8 2002 2006-05 The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, 2nd Ed. Edward R. Tufte http://www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/0961392142 Graphics Press 0-961-39214-2 2006 2007-01 Dreaming In Code Scott Rosenberg http://www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/1400082463 Crown Publishers 978-1400082469 2007 2007-03 Idoru William Gibson Putnam 978-0425190456 2003 320 2007-04 Journey Beyond Selene: Remarkable Expeditions Past Our Moon and to the Ends of the Solar System Jeffrey Kluger http://www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/0684847655/ Simon & Schuster 978-0684847658 1999 291 2007-05 CIA, Inc.: Espionage and the Craft of Business Intelligence F.W. Rustmann, Jr. http://www.amazon.com/CIA-INC-Espionage-Business-Intelligence/dp/1574885200/ Brassey's Inc. 1-57488-520-0 2002 198 2007-06 Learning Ruby Michael Fitzgerald http://www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/0596529864/ O'Reilly 978-0596529864 2007 193 2007-07 I, Wabenzi: A Souvenir Rafi Zabor http://www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/0865475830/ Farrar, Straus, and Giroux 978-0865475830 2005 480 2007-08 Hell's Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga Hunter S. Thompson http://www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/067960331X Ballantine Books 978-0679603313 1966 273 2007-08 Fear and Lothing: On the Campaign Trail '72 Hunter S. Thompson http://www.amazon.com/Fear-Loathing-Campaign-Trail-72/dp/0446698229 Warner Books 978-0446698221 1973 505 2007-09 The Rum Diary Hunter S. Thompson http://www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/0684856476 Simon & Schuster 978-0684856476 1998 224 2007-09 Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream Hunter S. Thompson http://www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/0679785892 Vintage 978-0679785897 1971 204 2007-09 When the Going Gets Weird: the twisted life and times of Hunter S. Thompson Peter O. Whitmer http://www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/0967738407/ POW 978-0967738406 1999 304 2007-10 The C++ Stardard Library: A Tutorial and Reference Nicolai M. Josuttis http://www.amazon.com/C-Standard-Library-Tutorial-Reference/dp/0201379260/ Addison-Wesley Professional 832 1999 2007-11 I've been using parts of the STL for many years, for example the string class. However, there were other parts I wanted to get more familiar with - the algorithms for example. I found the text clear and concise, as advertised. Cryptonomicon Neal Stephens http://www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/0060512806/ Avon 978-0060512804 2002 1168 2007-12 Airframe (Audio Book) Micheal Crichton http://www.amazon.com/Airframe-Michael-Crichton/dp/0345402871 Ballentine Books 978-0345402875 1997 448 2007-12 Next Michael Crichton http://www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/0060873167/ Harper 978-0060873165 2007 560 2007-12 Berlin Game Len Deighton http://www.amazon.com/Berlin-Game-Len-Deighton/dp/0345418344/ Ballantine Books 978-0345418340 1997 352 2007-12 Beyond the C++ Standard Library: An Introduction to Boost Bjorn Karlsson http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Standard-Library-Introduction-Boost/dp/0321133544/ Addison-Wesley Professional 978-0321133540 2005 432 2008-02 I simply devoured this book. I read it in something like a week. The section on using boost::function in conjunction with boost::bind & boost::lambda is pure magic. Using the generic/functional approach, you can knock the code for iterating over a container class from 23 lines of code (roughly) to 1 line. Boost::numeric_cast and boost::lexical_cast are also useful. Before reading the book, I was already familiar with the Boost Thread Library and the filesystem library. 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus Charles C. Mann http://www.amazon.com/1491-Revelations-Americas-Before-Columbus/dp/1400032059/ Knopf 1-4000-4006-X 2005 358 2008-05 Breaking Point (Tom Clancy's Net Force, No. 4)(Audio Book) Tom Clancy & Steve Pieczenik http://www.amazon.com/Breaking-Point-Tom-Clancys-Force/dp/0425176932/ Berkley 978-0425176931 2000 368 2008-06 The Darkest Jungle: The True Story of the Darien Expedition and America's Ill-Fated race to Connect the Seas (Audio Book) Todd Balf http://www.amazon.com/Darkest-Jungle-Expedition-Americas-Ill-Fated/dp/0609609890/ Crown 978-0609609897 2003 352 2008-07 Quicksilver Neal Stephenson 2004 919 2008-09 http://www.amazon.com/Quicksilver-Baroque-Cycle-Vol-1/dp/0060593083/ 978-0060593087 The Confusion Neal Stephenson Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc 2004 816 2008-09 http://www.amazon.com/Confusion-Baroque-Cycle-Vol/dp/B0009K765I/ 0060523867 The System of the World Neal Stephenson Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc 2004 892 2008-10 http://www.amazon.com/System-World-Baroque-Cycle-Vol/dp/B0009K76DA/ 0060523875 Effective C++, 3rd ed. Scott Meyers Addison-Wesley Professional 2005 320 2008-10 978-0321334879 http://www.amazon.com/Effective-Specific-Addison-Wesley-Professional-Computing/dp/0321334876/ This book is really insightful. I know I couldn't absorb everything... so I'll be reading it again at some point. Effective STL Scott Meyers Addison-Wesley Professional 2001 288 2008-10 978-0201749625 http://www.amazon.com/Effective-STL-Addison-Wesley-Professional-Computing/dp/0201749629/ Another excellent book from Meyers. Another requiring a re-read in the future. The Miernik Dossier Charles McCarry 2005 276 2009-01 978-1585677368 http://www.amazon.com/Miernik-Dossier-Charles-McCarry/dp/1585677361 The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering, Anniversary Edition (2nd Edition) Frederick P. Brooks 1995 2009-02 336 978-0201835953 http://www.amazon.com/Mythical-Man-Month-Software-Engineering-Anniversary/dp/0201835959/ Thunderstruck (audio book) Erik Larson Three Rivers Press 2007 2009-04 480 978-1400080670 http://www.amazon.com/Thunderstruck-Erik-Larson/dp/1400080673/ The Art of Debugging with GDB, DDD, and Eclipse Norman Matloff No Starch Press 2008 2009-03 280 978-1593271749 http://www.amazon.com/Art-Debugging-GDB-DDD-Eclipse/dp/1593271743/ More Effective C++: 35 New Ways to Improve Your Programs and Designs Scott Meyers Addison-Wesley 1996 2009-05 336 978-0201633719 http://www.amazon.com/More-Effective-Addison-Wesley-Professional-Computing/dp/020163371X/ Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftmanship Robert C. "Uncle Bob" Martin Prentice Hall 2008 2009-07 464 978-0132350884 http://www.amazon.com/Clean-Code-Handbook-Software-Craftsmanship/dp/0132350882/ Too Loud A Solitude Bohumil Hrabal Michael Hentry Heim 1976 Harcourt 98 2009-09 0159604586 http://www.amazon.com/Too-Loud-Solitude-Bohumil-Hrabal/dp/0156904586/ Test-Driven Development By Example Kent Beck 2003 Addison-Wesley 2009-12 0-321-14653-0 http://www.amazon.com/Test-Driven-Development-Kent-Beck/dp/0321146530/ Liar's Poker Michael Lewis 2010 reprint W. W. Norton & Company 310 2010-04 978-0393338690 http://www.amazon.com/Liars-Poker-Michael-Lewis/dp/039333869X/ The Quants: How a New Breed of Math Whizzes Conquered Wall Street and Almost Destroyed It Scott Patterson 2010 Crown Business 352 2010-04 978-0307453372 http://www.amazon.com/Quants-Whizzes-Conquered-Street-Destroyed/dp/0307453375