"A short history of nearly everything" by Bill Bryson. The best science book I've ever read, recommended for anyone.
Ask HN: What book have you given as a gift?
41–50 of 529 posts
Re: Ask HN: What book have you given as a gift?
#42Letters of Note. From the blog of the same name - a fascinating collection of letters from and/or to historical figures. Makes a great coffee table book. https://unbound.com/books/letters-of-note
Re: Ask HN: What book have you given as a gift?
#43Books I found so amazing that I actually bought copies and given them as a gift (in some cases to multiple people):
* Perennial Vegetables by Eric Toensmeier--eye opening list of vegetables that come back year after year
* The Hard Thing About Hard Things, by Ben Horowitz. Somewhat presumptuously, I bought multiple copies and sent them to some of my friends/acquaintances that were CEOs.
* Climate Wars, by Gwynne Dyer. This mix of fiction and non fiction really brought the climate change crisis to my attention.
Re: Ask HN: What book have you given as a gift?
#44I don't have any friends who haven't read it who would appreciate it, but Clifford Stoll's The Cuckoo's Egg is both a highly entertaining thriller, a fascinating look at how computer security was, and is, viewed, and a highly personal story about a man trying to figure it all out. It's very funny, entirely true, and taught me a lot.
Oddly, a lot of people hated the various more personal aspects of the book, as you see Cliff's friends, and his life as a whole. While that's valid, calling it a flaw in the book is, I think, inaccurate. The book as much a story a story about Cliff as the shadowy hacker on the other side of the wires, and that's a big part of its charm, IMHO.
Ghost in the Wires, and Exploding the Phone are also good, and true stories.
Re: Ask HN: What book have you given as a gift?
#45_The Book With No Pictures_ by BJ Novak. It's a great book for friends with kids under 6 or so. You can see the author reading the beginning here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cREyQJO9EPs
I've given probably 10 copies to family and friends with kids and it's been universally liked.
https://www.amazon.com/Book-No-Pictures-B-J-Novak/dp/0803741...
Re: Ask HN: What book have you given as a gift?
#46The intelligent investor - benjamin graham. In my home country investing is still a mystery for many and there are no good books. This book gives you some base and perspective about investinng
Re: Ask HN: What book have you given as a gift?
#47Danny, the Champion of the World. For kids and kids at heart. One of the books that I feel made me want to be a maker/hacker.
Re: Ask HN: What book have you given as a gift?
#48I gave Stafford Beer's "Think Before You Think" [1] as a gift because I didn't seem to understand any of the book, so I gave it to someone smarter than me in the hope she would eventually explain it to me. I've forgotten to follow up on that.
[1] https://www.amazon.com/Think-Before-You-Complexity-Knowledge...
(Edit: I just looked at the Amazon page and realized the book seems to cost about $200 used -- can that be true...?! I think I paid $30 for it. Maybe I should have kept it.)
Re: Ask HN: What book have you given as a gift?
#49Allen Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking. I pay it forward. Stopped smoking six years ago and haven't had the desire to start again since. it feels great. I actually played the nintendo DS adaptation of the book, which was also available on ios for a while. it turned all the points the book was trying to make into a series of minigames that really illustrated the principles beautifully.
Yes that's a great book. I am still amazed how well it worked for me. I was a chain smoker smoking 40 cigs a day, and then I read the book and poof! I stopped for good.
I second this! I've recommended this to countless people. Did you guys find that a lot of people are really skeptical that a book can have such an impact? It certainly worked wonders for me as well.
Re: Ask HN: What book have you given as a gift?
#50The Swiss Family Robinson. A children's book, about a family that has no other option but to become makers.