Ask HN: What book did you read in 2016 that was so good you gifted it to others?

* "The Elements Of Computing Systems", by Nisan and Schocken

Accompanies www.nand2tetris.org and leads you through implementing logic gates, a CPU, Assembler, right up to a functional computer, with the help of simulator software on a PC. Fascinating, but requires 100-200 hours to complete all the exercises.

* "The Rosie Project", by Graeme Simsion

Easy to read novel about a man searching for a wife, as recommended on Bill Gates' blog

* "Island Of The Lost", by Joan Druett

A true story of survival after being shipwrecked on a remote island

* "River Town", by Peter Hessler

The experiences of an English teacher who spent two years working in China

Fundamentally about being agile, adaptable, transparent, collaborative and decentralised. You could say it's about digital transformation but on a military scale. An excellent companion to some other books mentioned here, such as Deep Work (this book is a constructive counterpoint in many ways), Extreme Ownership, and Ego is the Enemy.

https://mcchrystalgroup.com/teamofteams/

When Breathe Becomes Air Story about the meaning of life. Not sure how anyone can go through this and not cry. (First book I've ever cried reading)

I always say this if I can, but I reread it again, and it's still great.

For those of you who don't know, it's a story about chasing down a hacker at the dawn of the computing era (mid 80s, AFAIK). It's riveting, and absolutely true.