Books Recommended by Donald Knuth
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A Dual Autobiography
Will Durant
Source: "Superbly written, a great story about how a man and woman can work creatively and sustainably together despite the mysteries of the human sex drive." - Donald Knuth
Mountains Beyond Mountains
The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World
Tracy Kidder
Source: "About how Paul Farmer's local and global life combines theory and practice." - Donald Knuth
The Travels of Ibn Battutah
Ibn Battutah
Source: "Fascinating and eye-opening journal by a 14th-century Muslim scholar." - Donald Knuth
The Hornet's Nest
A Novel of the Revolutionary War
Jimmy Carter
Source: "A revolutionary novel about the Revolutionary War at all levels." - Donald Knuth
The Golden Gate
Vikram Seth
Source: "The Great California Novel, entirely in 14-line sonnets." - Donald Knuth
Lifeline Rule
Doug Nufer
Source: "The rule: parity to vowel; an awesome conovowel opus." - Donald Knuth
Death of a Salesperson
And Other Untimely Exits
Robert Barnard
Source: "[The author] is at his best in short stories like these." - Donald Knuth
The Age of Faith
A History of Medieval Civilization - Christian, Islamic, and Judaic - From Constantine to Dante
Will Durant
Source: "Volume 4 of his series, covers the years 325--1300." - Donald Knuth
The Abominable Man
Martin Beck, Book 7
Maj Sjöwall
Source: "One of their brilliantly Swedish detective novels." - Donald Knuth
Gaudy Night
Lord Peter Wimsey, Book 12
Dorothy L. Sayers
Source: "Captures Oxford high-table small-talk wonderfully." - Donald Knuth
The Man Who Knew Infinity
A Life of the Genius Ramanujan
Robert Kanigel
Source: "Biographies of Ramanujan and Hardy." - Donald Knuth
Murder In The Museum Of Man
A Life of the Genius Ramanujan
Robert Kanigel
Source: "Delicious caricature of academic follies." - Donald Knuth
Marjorie Morningstar
Herman Wouk
Source: "In-depth characters plus a whole philosophy." - Donald Knuth
On Food and Cooking
The Science and Lore of the Kitchen
Harold McGee
Source: "Applied biochemistry in the kitchen." - Donald Knuth
6 books