Math
- Mathematics for the Nonmathematician.
Morris Kline, published by Dover.
This is a wonderful book for those easily discouraged by theory. It contains
a practical history of the development of math in the context of art,
architecture, civilization, and of course science.
- Innumeracy. John Allen Paulos,
published by Vintage.
Should be mandatory reading in high school. This book attempts to dispel the
notion that math is somehow irrelevant to the average person. It argues that
the excuse, "I'm just not good at math" is no more acceptable
than, "I can't read" is to an enlightened society.
- e: The Story of a Number. Eli Maor,
published by Princeton.
OK, anything by this author is great. Eli Maor breathes life into his topics
by introducing the people behind the theorems. This book finally helped me
to get excited about logarithms.
- Trigonometric Delights. Eli Maor,
published by Princeton.
Eli does for trigonometry what he did for logarithms in the book mentioned
above. Again, very enjoyable.
- Who is Fourier? A Mathematical Adventure.
Published by Language Research Foundation
I was intimidated by FFTs in college and then discovered this book. It is so
approachable that anyone with a basic high school education could
comfortably work through it and have a solid grasp of the fundamentals of
Fourier Transforms. Along the way, they'd pick up some trig, imaginary
numbers, and meet a guy named Euler.
- The Man Who Loved Only Numbers. Paul
Hoffman, published by Hyperion.
Delightful and depressing. An entertaining book about a true Personality in
the world of math, Paul Erdos. As interesting as he is, he is also
depressing because none of the rest of us can even begin to compare with his
brilliance. John Nash (A Beautiful Mind) was a one-trick pony compared to
this prolific man.
- The Man Who Knew Infinity. Robert
Kanigel, Washington Square Press.
If you liked "A Beautiful Mind" then you'll love this. More
"made for Hollywood" than even John Nash's story (by far), this is
a well researched and engaging look into the life of Ramanajan, the Indian
genius of early last century. A must read, it will haunt you for weeks
afterwards.
- Mathematics of Chance. Jiri Andel,
Wiley-Interscience.
A collection of real-world problems that illustrate key ideas from
probability and statistics. The opening problem sets the tone for the book:
"In an Edinburgh pub this comment was overheard: 'A Scottish person who
moves from Scotland to England raises the level of intelligence in both
places.' Is this possible? What might you hear in a Newcastle pub?" The
examples are sometimes fun, sometimes highly practical, but always
enjoyable.
- Statistics. Martin Sternstein, Barron's
College Review Series.
Another excellent book that is packed with good examples. Great if you want
to understand the principles and be able to apply them, but certainly not a
series of proofs or solid fundamental theory.
- Matrix Analysis and Applied Linear Algebra.
Carl D. Meyer, SIAM.
Easy to read, well explained, plenty of good examples. SIAM is the Society
for Industrial and Applied Mathematics so again this is more about using the
math than appreciating its theoretical underpinnings. Very helpful for
computer vision and graphics.
Computer Science
- Data Modeling For Information Professionals.
Bob Schmidt, Prentice Hall
Exceptionally entertaining book on data modeling that is still rooted
strongly in practice and theory. His explanation of predicates and states
are worth the price of the book alone. My top DM recommendation.
- Data Model Patterns: Conventions of Thought.
David C. Hay, Dorset House.
The title sums it up. Here is a list of reasonably abstract patterns that
cover things like contracts, procedures and activities, accounting, process
manufacturing, laboratories, material requirements planning, etc. An
excellent check to your own models or a great place to start.
- Database Design. Stephens and Plew,
SAMS.
A nice overview of the whole process of developing a database. It covers
planning, analysis, design, security, ERDs, normalization, etc. A great
reference book.
- Effective C++ and More Effective
C++. Meyers, Addison Wesley.
Great books for deepening your understanding of C++. Easy to read, very
practical, and the topics are short and sweet.
- Black Belt C++: The Master's
Collection. Published by M&T Books.
A great collection of essays helps aficionados of C++ get into the deep
places of the language.
- Core Java2, Volumes I and II. Published
by Sun Microsystems Press.
Recommended by my OOP professor, these are straightforward, no-nonsense
books that get you immediately into Java without the expected marketing hype
(or maybe I just skipped over that part).
- Object Oriented Methods. Graham,
Addison-Wesley.
Excellent survey of many different aspects of OOP including languages,
databases, architecture and design, and OOP SW engineering. Fairly dense,
but a great reference.
History
- History of the Persian Empire. Olmstead,
Chicago Press.
This books helps one to understand we were a couple of unexpected Greek
victories away from having Persian history as our background. The sacking of
the Baghdad museum takes on much more significance after reading this.
Christian
- Blue Like Jazz. Donald Miller, Nelson.
In one word: refreshing. Not only is Donald a gifted writer (rare,
unfortunately, at least in my opinion) whose metaphors are seamless and
whose humor is intelligent and well-timed, but he is unabashedly honest in
his appraisal of himself and the modern American church. No religious cow is
too sacred to be roasted and yet he does it without the usual heavy dose of
caustic criticism or smug irony.
- Seizing Your Divine Moment. McManus,
Nelson.
Hmm. I just noticed these are by the same publisher. I think I'll have to
look into their offerings more. Erwin McManus, pastor of Mosaic in Los
Angeles, challenges traditional defensive/comfortable American Christianity
with an in-depth look at the life of Jonathon. Not your typical "rah
rah" book, it nevertheless will be of great encouragement to those who
have become discouraged or perhaps a bit disillusioned with typical
"church".
- *. C.S. Lewis, whoever.
OK, I'm an unashamed Lewisian. From "The World's Last Night" I'm particularly
fond of his essay, "The Efficacy of Prayer" which throws the
"if you only have enough faith" argument on its ear. Prayer is
relational, not magical.
Fiction, Other...
- Agatha Christy mysteries
- Treasury of Favorite Poems (usually on sale at
Barnes and Noble)
