Episode · The Pragmatic Engineer · 2026-04-29
Books mentioned on Building Pi, and what makes self-modifying software so fascinating
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Mentioned: Code by Charles Petzold.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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Code
Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software by Charles Petzold is an accessible exploration of how computers work, tracing the journey from basic electrical circuits and switches to modern computing systems.
Recommended“Code by Petzold. Classic. I just love it. It's just such a great read. It's also for non-techies and it's the first thing I recommend if anybody ask me, "What's your job?"”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (1) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
Passing Breakneck
“And I read recently Breakneck, uh which I unfortunately forgot the author of. Um they sort of goes a little bit into an exploration of like how China works and or maybe Europe and and the US are different”