Another spate of books for gift.
• The Turing Omnibus, A. K. Dewdney. Like The Schemer's Guide, this was one of my favorite books for some years. Over 61 chapters in 11 different areas, it presents most of the basic ideas of computer science, from logic design to AI and algorithm analysis and automata theory. Each chapter is short and Dewdney's style is charming (don't miss his Planiverse if you're, you know, conscious). These short chapters treat the eleven topics round-robin, so you get a little bite of, say, graphics, then you explore a bit of logic design, and soon you're back round to graphics again, making it a fun thing to work on a little bit every day. The book is absolutely riddled with inaccuracies (this is the first edition), which can be frustrating, and the exercises are not too engaging. But if you have a sufficiently curious mind not to be deterred by these foibles, I heartily recommend this. This copy was given to me when I was about 14 by a mentor of mine, a friend of the family who I revered. It would make an excellent gift for a budding young mathematician or computer scientist, or someone who just wants to absorb some of the deeper beauty of the subject. I part with it slowly and wistfully, only because I feel it could now do more for someone else than it will for me. 415 pp., hardcover. For you: $0.
• The Complete FreeBSD (includes the operating system on 4 CDs). For you: $0.
• Red Hat Linux 7.3 Secrets (includes the OS on 2 CDs). Not too useful since you have to upgrade it right away, and to do that you've got to fork over hard currency. Might make a good doorstop or trophy-book for the aspirational. For you: $0.
• Days of War, Nights of Love, by CrimethInc. Mass-produced anarchist propaganda. If you want to feel your dissent has been commodified and sold back to you at a price, this book is for you—but free. The saving grace: a letter written by Jeanette Winterson (yes, that Jeanette Winterson) to William Gibson (yes, that William Gibson) on the subject of technology and how it's bound to ruin our lives. Both of these fine people now have blogs. For you: $0.
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