This is an essay. It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints. |
The Ignorant Man's Book Collection, a general reading list of reliable textbooks, popular non-fiction writings, guides, and literature. Hopefully a good list of entry-level references for a wide range of topics, and just enough reading selection to stay ignorant for a lifetime.
Essential texts are listed in bold. Within the same subjects, texts are roughly ordered from top to bottom by increasing depth, with introductory texts at the top. Complementary texts and online course resources are listed in the nested bullet points.
Mathematics
editAreas of mathematics and Lists of mathematics topics
MIT Mathematics undergraduate curriculum
- Introduction to Probability by Dimitri P. Bertsekas and John N. Tsitsiklis
- Linear Algebra Done Right by Sheldon Axler
- Linear Algebra by Stephen H. Friedberg, Arnold J. Insel, and Lawrence E. Spence [exercises]
- Linear Algebra by Georgi E. Shilov [complementary, Dover]
- Gilbert Strang's 18.06 [lecture]
- Calculus, Volume 1: One-Variable Calculus, with An Introduction to Linear Algebra by Tom M. Apostol
- Christine Breiner's 18.014 Calculus with Theory
- Ravi Vakil's 18.014 Calculus with Theory
- Calculus With Analytic Geometry by George Simmons
- Calculus, Volume 2: Multi-Variable Calculus and Linear Algebra with Applications to Differential Equations and Probability by Tom M Apostol
- Hamid Hezari's 18.024 Multivariable Calculus with Theory
- Div, Grad, Curl, & All That: An Informal Text on Vector Calculus by Harry M. Schey
- Ordinary Differential Equations by Morris Tenenbaum and Harry Pollard [Dover]
- Differential Equations, Dynamical Systems, and an Introduction to Chaos by Morris W. Hirsch, Stephen Smale, and Robert L. Devaney [depth]
- Ordinary Differential Equations by Vladimir I. Arnold and Richard A. Silverman
- Nonlinear Dynamics and Chaos: With Applications To Physics, Biology, Chemistry, and Engineering by Steven H. Strogatz
- Partial Differential Equations for Scientists and Engineers by Stanley J. Farlow [Dover]
- Partial Differential Equations by Lawrence C. Evans
- Fourier Analysis 18.103, 118, Signals & Systems 6.003
Mathematical Analysis
edit- Principles of Mathematical Analysis by Walter Rudin
- Real and Complex Analysis by Walter Rudin [depth]
- Elementary Analysis: The Theory of Calculus by Kenneth A. Ross
- Calculus by Michael Spivak
- Chris H. Rycroft's Math 104 Introduction to Analysis
- Benjamin Stamm's Math 104 Introduction to Analysis
- Visual Complex Analysis by Tristan Needham
Abstract Algebra
edit- Algebra 18.701, 18.702
- Lie Groups 18.755
- Topology 18.901
Topology by J. Munkries
Geometry
edit- Algebraic Geometry 18.725
- Differential Geometry 18.950
- Riemannian Geometry
Physics
edit- Basic Physics 8.01, 8.02, 8.03
- Thermodynamics 5.60
- Landau and Lifshitz's Course of Theoretical Physics
Mechanics
edit- An Introduction to Mechanics by Daniel Kleppner and Robert Kolenkow
- Classical Mechanics by John R. Taylor
Electrodynamics
edit- Electricity and Magnetism by Edward M. Purcell
- Introduction to Electrodynamics by David J. Griffiths
- Electromagnetic Fields 6.013, Electrodynamics 6.014
- Statistical Mechanics
- Tensor Analysis
Astrophysics & Cosmology
edit- An Introduction to Modern Astrophysics by Bradley Carroll and Dale Ostlie
- The Physical Universe: An Introduction to Astronomy by Frank Shu [supplement]
- Introduction to Cosmology by Barbara Ryden
Chemistry
edit- Chemical Principles: The Quest for Insight by Peter Atkins and Loretta Jones
- Christopher Cummins and Sylvia Ceyer's 5.112 Principles of Chemical Science
- Principles of Modern Chemistry by David W. Oxtoby, H. Pat Gillis, and Alan Campion
- General Chemistry by Linus Pauling
- Molecular Driving Forces: Statistical Thermodynamics in Chemistry & Biology by Ken A. Dill and Sarina Bromberg
Organic Chemistry
edit- Organic Chemistry by Leroy G. Wade
Physical Chemistry
edit- Quantum Chemistry by Donald A. McQuarrie
Biology
edit- Campbell Biology by Jane B. Reece, Lisa A. Urry, Michael L. Cain, Steven A. Wasserman, Peter V. Minorsky, and Robert B. Jackson
- Biological Science by Scott Freeman
Molecular Cell Biology
edit- Molecular Biology of the Cell by Bruce Alberts
- Molecular Cell Biology by Harvey Lodish, Arnold Berk, Chris A. Kaiser, Monty Kreiger, Matthew P. Scott, Anthony Bretscher, Hidde Ploegh, and Paul Matsudaira [depth]
Neuroscience
edit- Principles of Neural Science by Eric Kandel, James Schwartz, and Thomas Jessell
Engineering (general)
edit- The Design of Everyday Things by Donald A. Norman
Computer Science
edit- Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs by Harold Abelson and Gerald Jay Sussman with Julie Sussman
Algorithms and data structures
edit- Introduction to Algorithms by Thomas H. Cormen, Charles E. Leiserson, Ronald L. Rivest, and Clifford Stein
- Algorithms by Sanjoy Dasgupta, Christos Papadimitriou, and Umesh Vazirani [complementary, exercises]
- Charles Leiserson's 6.046J Introduction to Algorithms
- David Karger's 6.854 Advanced Algorithms
- Erik Demaine's 6.851 Advanced Data Structures
- The Art of Computer Programming by Donald E. Knuth [depth]
Computation
edit- Introduction to the Theory of Computation by Michael Sipser
- The New Turing Omnibus: 66 Excursions in Computer Science by A. K. Dewdney [supplement]
- Computational Complexity by Christos H. Papadimitriou
Artificial intelligence
edit- Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach by Stuart Russell and Peter Norvig
Computer architecture
edit- Computer Organization and Design: The Hardware/Software Interface by David A. Patterson and John L. Hennessy
- The Elements of Computing Systems by Noam Nisan and Shimon Schocken (From NAND to Tetris)
- Computer Architecture: A Quantitative Approach by John L. Hennessy and David A. Patterson
- Modern Operating Systems by Andrew S. Tanenbaum
- Operating System Concepts by Avi Silberschatz, Peter Baer Galvin, and Greg Gagne [alternative]
- The Design and Implementation of the FreeBSD Operating System by Marshall Kirk McKusick and George V. Neville-Neil [depth]
- The Design of the UNIX Operating System by Maurice J. Bach [depth]
- Anthony D. Joseph and Ion Stoica's CS 162 Operating Systems and Systems Programming with lectures
- Ulrich Drepper's "What Every Programmer Should Know About Memory"
Linux
edit- Understanding the Linux Kernel by Daniel P. Bovet and Marco Cesati
- Linux Kernel Development by Robert Love
- Linux Device Drivers by Jonathan Corbet, Alessandro Rubini, and Greg Kroah-Hartman
Communications
edit- Computer Networking: A Top-Down Approach by Jim Kurose and Keith Ross
Computer security
editDatabases
edit- Database Management Systems by Raghu Ramakrishnan and Johannes Gehrke
Distributed systems
editSoftware engineering
edit- The Architecture of Open Source Applications by Amy Brown and Greg Wilson
- The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering by Frederick P. Brooks Jr.
- Programming Pearls by Jon Bentley
- Code Complete: A Practical Handbook of Software Construction by Steve McConnell
- The Pragmatic Programmer: From Journeyman to Master by Andrew Hunt and David Thomas
- Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software by Erich Gamma, Richard Helm, Ralph Johnson, and John Vlissides
Electrical Engineering
editElectrodynamics
editElectronics
edit- The Art of Electronics by Paul Horowitz and Winfield Hill
- Foundations of Analog and Digital Electronic Circuits by Anant Agarwal and Jeffrey Lang
- Design with Operational Amplifiers and Analog Integrated Circuits by Sergio Franco
- Pulse, Digital & Switching Waveforms by Jacob Millman, Herbert Taub, and Mothiki S. Prakash Rao [supplement]
Microelectronics
edit- Fundamentals of Microelectronics by Behzad Razavi
- Semiconductor Device Fundamentals by Robert F. Pierret
Integrated circuits
edit- Design of Analog CMOS Integrated Circuits by Behzad Razavi
- Designing Analog Chips by Hanz Camenzind
- Digital Integrated Circuits by Jan M. Rabaey, Anantha Chandrakasan, and Borivoje Nikolic
- CMOS Circuit Design by R. Jacob Baker, Harry W. Li, and David E. Boyce
- RF Microelectronics by Behzad Razavi
Signals and Systems
edit- A First Course in Wavelets with Fourier Analysis by Albert Boggess and Francis J. Narcowich
- Signals and Systems by Alan V. Oppenheim and Alan S. Willsky with S. Hamid Nawab
- Discrete-Time Signal Processing by Alan V. Oppenheim and Ronald W. Schafer with John R. Buck
- Understanding Digital Signal Processing by Richard G. Lyons
Image Processing
edit- Digital Image Processing by Rafael C. Gonzalez and Richard E. Woods
Controls Engineering
editMechanical Engineering
editAerospace
edit- Introduction to Flight by John D. Anderson Jr.
- Fundamentals of Aerodynamics by John D. Anderson Jr.
- Fundamentals of Astrodynamics by Roger R. Bate, Donald D. Mueller, and Jerry E. White
- Space Mission Analysis and Design by Wiley J. Larson and James R. Wertz
Robotics
edit- Probabilistic Robots by Sebastian Thrun, Wolfram Burgard, and Dieter Fox
Economics
editHistory
edit- A People's History of the United States: 1492 to Present by Howard Zinn
- A People's History of the World: From the Stone Age to the New Millennium by Chris Harman
Politics
edit- Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media by Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky
- Understanding Power: The Indispensible Chomsky by Noam Chomsky, John Schoeffel, and R. Mitchell
Survival
edit- notes