A-level Computer Science Reading List
Best Book for GCSE
Code: the hidden language of hardware and software
Amazon: Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software: Amazon.co.uk: Petzold, Charles: 4708364241393: Books
What do flashlights, the British invasion, black cats, and seesaws have to do with computers? In CODE, they show us the ingenious ways we manipulate language and invent new means of communicating with each other. And through CODE, we see how this ingenuity and our very human compulsion to communicate have driven the technological innovations of the past two centuries.
Best Text for A-level
The New Turing Omnibus
Amazon: New Turing Omnibus: Amazon.co.uk: Dewdney, A. K.: 9780805071665: Books
No other volume provides as broad, as thorough, or as accessible an introduction to the realm of computers as A. K. Dewdney's "The Turing Omnibus." Updated and expanded, "The Turing Omnibus" offers 66 concise, brilliantly written articles on the major points of interest in computer science theory, technology, and applications.
Best for Oxbridge Preparation
Algorithmic Puzzles Anany Levitin & Maria Levitin
Amazon: Algorithmic Puzzles: Amazon.co.uk: Levitin, Anany, Levitin, Maria: 8601406057036: Books
While many think of algorithms as specific to computer science, at its core algorithmic thinking is defined by the use of analytical logic to solve problems. This logic extends far beyond the realm of computer science and into the wide and entertaining world of puzzles. In Algorithmic Puzzles, Anany and Maria Levitin use many classic brainteasers as well as newer ex&les from job interviews with major corporations to show readers how to apply analytical thinking to solve puzzles requiring well-defined procedures.
Best for preparing for the a-level programming project
University Bookcase
This book is for everyone living in the age of Artificial Intelligence. And this is an accessible and authoritative introduction to one of the most important conversations of our time
Gödel, Escher, Bach is a wonderful exploration of fascinating ideas at the heart of cognitive science: meaning, reduction, recursion, and much more.
There are still major limitations to computers, serious problems that not even the most powerful computers can solve. The consequences of such limitations can be serious. Too often these limits get overlooked, in the quest for more powerful computers. In Computers Ltd, David Harel illustrates one of the most fundamental, yet under-exposed facets of computers - their inherent limitations.
A walkthrough of computer science concepts you must know. Designed for readers who don't care for academic formalities, it's a fast and easy computer science guide. It teaches the foundations you need to program computers effectively. After a simple introduction to discrete math, it presents common algorithms and data structures. It also outlines the principles that make computers and programming languages work.
Brian Christian and cognitive scientist Tom Griffiths show us how the simple, precise algorithms used by computers can also untangle very human questions. Modern life is constrained by limited space and time, limits that give rise to a particular set of problems. What should we do, or leave undone, in a day or a lifetime? How much messiness should we accept? The authors explain how to have better hunches and when to leave things to chance, how to deal with overwhelming choices and how best to connect with others.
Even bad code can function. But if code isn’t clean, it can bring a development organization to its knees. Every year, countless hours and significant resources are lost because of poorly written code. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Noted software expert Robert C. Martin presents a revolutionary paradigm with Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship .