This is a nice book, one that I will keep near me, next to Manfred Schroeder’s Fractals, chaos, power laws [1] and Mark Levi’s The mathematical mechanic [2].

In the “computing” dimension, this book is one of the best quick reviews of computing essentials I have read in many years. Everything is discussed to a varying but well-thought-out degree of deepness, from digital gates to central processing units (CPUs) and random-access memory (RAM); from Boolean logic and number systems to operating systems; from packets to networks; from algorithms in pseudocode and codes to the web, the cloud, and the applications in our smartphones. The discussion does not always follow a hierarchical view from smaller to larger, or from the bottom to the top, nor a historical view following the evolution of computational thinking, but tries to highlight common threads below seemingly disparate themes; for example, recursion is discussed after web services, but audio, video, data formats, data compression, and document markup are discussed in the same chapter. This approach neither affects the pedagogical force of the book nor harms the coherence of the presentation of computing themes. On the contrary, it sometimes makes old-timers like me think deeper about the relative importance that various themes have historically acquired, or makes us draw new conclusions or have new ideas: always viewing things from new angles leads to innovation.

The book comes with numerous exercises at the end of each chapter and a companion website, which make it well positioned to serve as a textbook for one of the initial semesters of a university class, which possibly includes learning a first programming language or discussing modern digital technology. The website contains guidelines for instructors, many executables and demos from the examples of the book, and many more resources that make reading the book a fuller experience.

The book discusses a lot of standard algorithms and techniques like QuickSort and the power of recursion, Eight Queens and backtracking, tree traversals, and the Towers of Hanoi, but I wish it had included some discussions and algorithms related to artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (for example, a simple Hopfield neural net associative memory, a simplified version of the Google’s PageRank algorithm, and an introduction to data mining and big data mining). These issues do not compromise the spirit of the book since they are at the very heart of computing, and would be beneficial to the audience of the book, both to explain effective computational thinking approaches and to dissolve myths and reveal possible social dangers.

The “computational thinking” dimension of the book is not as strong as the computing dimension. Let me explain: when talking about computational thinking and its effectiveness, apart from learning extraordinary algorithms and trying to memorize a series of computational thinking guidelines that distill various aspects of how to think “computationally,” I would have also liked a deeper discussion of concrete examples where the computational thinking compared to, for example, physical, mathematical, philosophical, or systemic thinking has done the job better (including of course an explanation of the criteria defining “better”). I would have also liked a clarification of analog-physical computing and its power in comparison to digital computing, giving, I hope, a deeper understanding of what computing really is, and also touching on some computability issues and what they imply about computational thinking.

I recommend the book for anyone needing a solid, quick introduction to computing and computational thinking, for example, first-time programmers, students, journalists, lawmakers, and even computing industry professionals who need a refresher on essential principles presented in an unconventional way.

Overall, while this book is not easy reading, it is easy-flowing reading. Most of the time, the depth of the discussion is handled with pedagogical mastery. I am anxiously awaiting the next edition, which I am certain will make the book a classic.