Recommendations based on Cracking the Coding Interview: 150 Programming Questions and Solutionsby Gayle Laakmann McDowell

* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans

  1. The Art of War

    by Sun Tzu
    Ancient Chinese military treatise outlining strategies for success in battle.

    Twenty-Five Hundred years ago, Sun Tzu wrote this classic book of military strategy based on Chinese warfare and military thought. Since that time, all levels of military have used the teaching on ... (Goodreads)

  2. Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future

    by Ashlee Vance
    A revealing look into the life and accomplishments of tech innovator Elon Musk.

    Elon Musk, the entrepreneur and innovator behind SpaceX, Tesla, and SolarCity, sold one of his internet companies, PayPal, for $1.5 billion. Ashlee Vance captures the full spectacle and arc of the ... (Goodreads)

  3. The Pragmatic Programmer: From Journeyman to Master

    by Andy Hunt
    A guide to mastering the craft of programming, using practical techniques and approaches.

    Straight from the programming trenches,, The Pragmatic Programmer, cuts through the increasing specialization and technicalities of modern software development to examine the core process–taking a ... (Goodreads)

  4. Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration

    by Ed Catmull
    An exploration of the principles and strategies that drive success in the creative process.

    “What does it mean to manage well?” From Ed Catmull, co-founder (with Steve Jobs and John Lasseter) of Pixar Animation Studios, comes an incisive book about creativity in business—sure to appeal to ... (Goodreads)

  5. Homo Deus: A History of Tomorrow

    by Yuval Noah Harari
    An exploration of humanity's future, and the potential paths of our species.

    Yuval Noah Harari, author of the critically-acclaimed, New York Times, bestseller and international phenomenon, Sapiens, returns with an equally original, compelling, and provocative book, turning ... (Goodreads)

  6. The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses

    by Eric Ries
    Systematic approach to launching and managing successful businesses in an ever-changing market.

    Most startups fail. But many of those failures are preventable. The Lean Startup is a new approach being adopted across the globe, changing the way companies are built and new products are launched. ... (Goodreads)

  7. Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future

    by Peter Thiel
    A guide to launching a startup, exploring the power of entrepreneurship.

    If you want to build a better future, you must believe in secrets. The great secret of our time is that there are still uncharted frontiers to explore and new inventions to create. In Zero to One, ... (Goodreads)

  8. The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers

    by Ben Horowitz
    A practical guide to navigating the challenges of building and leading a successful business, with insights from a seasoned entrepreneur.

    Ben Horowitz, cofounder of Andreessen Horowitz and one of Silicon Valley's most respected and experienced entrepreneurs, offers essential advice on building and running a startup—practical wisdom for ... (Barnes & Noble)

  9. Thinking, Fast and Slow

    by Daniel Kahneman
    An exploration of the two systems of the mind, and how they influence decision-making.

    In the highly anticipated Thinking, Fast and Slow , Kahneman takes us on a groundbreaking tour of the mind and explains the two systems that drive the way we think. System 1 is fast, intuitive, and ... (Goodreads)

  10. The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement

    by Eliyahu M. Goldratt
    A business novel that follows a manufacturing plant's attempts to optimize production.

    Written in a fast-paced thriller style,, The Goal, is the gripping novel which is transforming management thinking throughout the Western world. Alex Rogo is a harried plant manager working ever more ... (Goodreads)

  11. Getting Real: The Smarter, Faster, Easier Way to Build a Web Application

    by 37 Signals
    A practical guide to building web applications with a focus on simplicity, efficiency, and user experience.

    Getting Real details the business, design, programming, and marketing principles of 37signals. The book is packed with keep-it-simple insights, contrarian points of view, and unconventional ... (Barnes & Noble)

  12. The Charisma Myth: How Anyone Can Master the Art and Science of Personal Magnetism

    by Olivia Fox Cabane
    A guide to developing charisma, with practical tips and exercises to improve communication skills and personal presence.

    What if charisma, could, be taught? The charisma myth is the idea that charisma is a fundamental, inborn quality—you either have it (Bill Clinton, Steve Jobs, Oprah) or you don’t. But that’s simply ... (Barnes & Noble)

  13. Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World

    by Cal Newport
    Strategies and techniques to help readers stay focused on tasks and achieve greater success.

    One of the most valuable skills in our economy is becoming increasingly rare. If you master this skill, you'll achieve extraordinary results. Deep work is the ability to focus without distraction on ... (Goodreads)

  14. High Output Management

    by Andrew S. Grove
    An essential guide to managing people and processes to achieve maximum productivity.

    In this legendary business book and Silicon Valley staple, the former chairman and CEO of Intel shares his perspective on how to build and run a company. A practical handbook for navigating real-life ... (Barnes & Noble)

  15. Screw It, Let's Do It: Lessons In Life

    by Richard Branson
    A guide to success, outlining the life lessons and business strategies of an entrepreneur.

    RICHARD BRANSON , one of the world's most famous and admired business leaders, argues that it's time to turn capitalism upside down-to shift our values from an exclusive focus on profit to also ... (Barnes & Noble)

  16. Hatching Twitter: A True Story of Money, Power, Friendship, and Betrayal

    by Nick Bilton
    A gripping account of the meteoric rise of Twitter and the interpersonal conflicts that ensued.

    Twitter seems like a perfect start-up success story. In barely six years, a small group of young, ambitious programmers in Silicon Valley built an $11.5 billion business out of the ashes of a failed ... (Goodreads)

  17. Lying

    by Sam Harris
    Examination of the morality of deception, exploring its implications in modern society.

    As it was in Anna Karenina, Madame Bovary, and Othello, so it is in life. Most forms of private vice and public evil are kindled and sustained by lies. Acts of adultery and other personal betrayals, ... (Goodreads)

  18. Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products

    by Nir Eyal
    A guide to creating products that form habits, using psychology and technology to keep users coming back.

    How do successful companies create products people can’t put down? Why do some products capture widespread attention while others flop? What makes us engage with certain products out of sheer habit? ... (Goodreads)

  19. How to Talk to Anyone: 92 Little Tricks for Big Success in Relationships

    by Leil Lowndes
    Guide to developing and maintaining successful personal relationships.

    "You'll not only break the ice, you'll melt it away with your new skills." – Larry King "The lost art of verbal communication may be revitalized by Leil Lowndes." -- Harvey McKay, author of "How to ... (Goodreads)

  20. Genome: the Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters

    by Matt Ridley
    A journey through the genetic code of humanity, uncovering our evolutionary history.

    Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters, is a 1999 popular science book by the science writer Matt Ridley , published by Fourth Estate. The chapters are numbered for the pairs of human ... (Wikipedia)

  21. The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon

    by Brad Stone
    The story of Amazon and its founder Jeff Bezos, from its humble beginnings to becoming one of the world's largest companies.

    The definitive story of Amazon.com, one of the most successful companies in the world, and of its driven, brilliant founder, Jeff Bezos. Amazon.com started off delivering books through the mail. But ... (Goodreads)

  22. How to Lie with Statistics

    by Darrell Huff
    A humorous guide to mastering the art of manipulating data to support any argument.

    Darrell Huff runs the gamut of every popularly used type of statistic, probes such things as the sample study, the tabulation method, the interview technique, or the way the results are derived from ... (Goodreads)

  23. How Google Works

    by Eric Schmidt
    Exploring the secrets of the world's most successful tech giant, offering insight into its inner workings.

    Both Eric Schmidt and Jonathan Rosenberg came to Google as seasoned Silicon Valley business executives, but over the course of a decade they came to see the wisdom in Coach John Wooden's observation ... (Goodreads)

  24. Why Evolution Is True

    by Jerry A. Coyne
    Comprehensive exploration of the evidence for evolutionary biology.

    Why evolution is more than just a theory: it is a fact. In all the current highly publicized debates about creationism and its descendant "intelligent design," there is an element of the controversy ... (Goodreads)

  25. The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business

    by Charles Duhigg
    Uncovering the science of habit formation and how to use it to achieve success.

    A young woman walks into a laboratory. Over the past two years, she has transformed almost every aspect of her life. She has quit smoking, run a marathon, and been promoted at work. The patterns ... (Goodreads)

  26. Principles: Life and Work

    by Ray Dalio
    A practical guide to achieving success through self-awareness and understanding of life principles.

    Ray Dalio, one of the world’s most successful investors and entrepreneurs, shares the unconventional principles that he’s developed, refined, and used over the past forty years to create unique ... (Goodreads)

  27. Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture

    by David Kushner
    The story of John Carmack and John Romero, creators of the video game Doom, and their impact on the gaming industry.

    Masters of Doom is the amazing true story of the Lennon and McCartney of video games: John Carmack and John Romero. Together, they ruled big business. They transformed popular culture. And they ... (Goodreads)

  28. The Way of Zen

    by Alan W. Watts
    An exploration of the philosophy, history and psychology of Zen Buddhism.

    In his definitive introduction to Zen Buddhism, Alan Watts explains the principles and practices of this ancient religion to Western readers. With a rare combination of freshness and lucidity, he ... (Goodreads)

  29. Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship

    by Robert C. Martin
    A guide to writing maintainable, efficient computer code through principles of good design.

    Even bad code can function. But if code isn't clean, it can bring a development organization to its knees. Every year, countless hours and significant resources are lost because of poorly written ... (Goodreads)

  30. The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America

    by Richard Rothstein
    Examination of the US government's role in creating and enforcing racial segregation in housing.

    In this groundbreaking history of the modern American metropolis, Richard Rothstein, a leading authority on housing policy, explodes the myth that America’s cities came to be racially divided through ... (Goodreads)