Brian W. Kernighan Book order

The only book-length account of the life of Wendell Scott, the one-time moonshine runner who broke the color barrier in stock-car racing in 1952 and, against all odds, competed for more than 20 years in a sport dominated by Southern whites. Hard Driving is the story of one man's determination to live the life he loved, and to compete at the highest level of his sport. When Wendell Scott became NASCAR's version of Jackie Robinson in the segregated 1950s, some speedways refused to let him race. Scott appealed directly to the sport's founder, NASCAR czar Bill France Sr., who promised that NASCAR would treat him without prejudice. For the next two decades, Scott chased a dream whose fulfillment depended on France backing up that promise. France reneged on his pledge, but Scott did receive inspiring support from white drivers who admired his skill and tenacity, such as NASCAR champions Ned Jarrett and Richard Petty.

The riveting story of a nation at a crucial crossroadsFrom the start of his stint as RTÉ's Washington Correspondent Brian O'Donovan's lively and authoritative reporting of a tumultuous period in American life has been must-watch TV.Four Years in the Cauldron is his account of four busy years working in the US. He draws a compelling picture, full of telling colour and detail, of covering its fractured politics, particularly the extraordinary presidency of Donald Trump and the knife-edge election of Joe Biden. And he gives his unique perspective on big stories such as the Covid emergency, the Capitol riot, the murder of George Floyd and trial and conviction of his police killer.He also provides a visceral sense of what it's like living in a country shaped by guns, God, far-fetched conspiracy theories and the running sore of racism. Yet, drawing on his network of contacts, neighbours, friends and family connections outside the white-hot heat of Washington politics, he writes about the lives of ordinary American people with nuance and understanding.Four Years in the Cauldron is a must-read for getting to grips with the US at a moment of profound reckoning.

"Numbers are often intimidating, confusing, and even deliberately deceptive--especially when they are really big. The media loves to report on millions, billions, and trillions, but frequently makes basic mistakes or presents such numbers in misleading ways. And misunderstanding numbers can have serious consequences, since they can deceive us in many of our most important decisions, including how to vote, what to buy, and whether to make a financial investment. In this short, accessible, enlightening, and entertaining book, leading computer scientist Brian Kernighan teaches anyone--even diehard math-phobes--how to demystify the numbers that assault us every day. With examples drawn from a rich variety of sources, including journalism, advertising, and politics, Kernighan demonstrates how numbers can mislead and misrepresent. In chapters covering big numbers, units, dimensions, and more, he lays bare everything from deceptive graphs to speciously precise numbers. And he shows how anyone--using a few basic ideas and lots of shortcuts--can easily learn to recognize common mistakes, determine whether numbers are credible, and make their own sensible estimates when needed. Giving you the simple tools you need to avoid being fooled by dubious numbers, Millions, Billions, Zillions is an essential survival guide for a world drowning in big--and often bad--data"--Jacket

"The fascinating story of how Unix began and how it took over the world. Brian Kernighan was a member of the original group of Unix developers, the creator of several fundamental Unix programs, and the co-author of classic books like "The C Programming Language" and "The Unix Programming Environment."--

An essential guide to recognizing bogus numbers and misleading data Numbers are often intimidating, confusing, and even deliberately deceptive—especially when they are really big. The media loves to report on millions, billions, and trillions, but frequently makes basic mistakes or presents such numbers in misleading ways. And misunderstanding numbers can have serious consequences, since they can deceive us in many of our most important decisions, including how to vote, what to buy, and whether to make a financial investment. In this short, accessible, enlightening, and entertaining book, leading computer scientist Brian Kernighan teaches anyone—even diehard math-phobes—how to demystify the numbers that assault us every day. With examples drawn from a rich variety of sources, including journalism, advertising, and politics, Kernighan demonstrates how numbers can mislead and misrepresent. In chapters covering big numbers, units, dimensions, and more, he lays bare everything from deceptive graphs to speciously precise numbers. And he shows how anyone—using a few basic ideas and lots of shortcuts—can easily learn to recognize common mistakes, determine whether numbers are credible, and make their own sensible estimates when needed. Giving you the simple tools you need to avoid being fooled by dubious numbers, Millions, Billions, Zillions is an essential survival guide for a world drowning in big—and often bad—data.

This is the clearest and simplest explanation of the world we now all depend on - how it works and why it does what it does - from one of our best-known inventors. Everyone on Earth needs to read it. - Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of Alphabet Inc. and Google

This resource is essential for programmers eager to learn Go, presenting clear and idiomatic approaches to solving real-world problems. It is designed for readers without prior knowledge of Go or any specific programming language, making it accessible for those familiar with JavaScript, Ruby, Python, Java, or C++. The initial chapter serves as a tutorial on fundamental Go concepts through practical examples, including file I/O, text processing, simple graphics, and web clients and servers. Subsequent chapters delve into the structural elements of Go programs, covering syntax, control flow, data types, and program organization into packages, files, and functions, while illustrating the use of standard library packages and creating new ones. Later sections provide a detailed explanation of the package mechanism and project management using the go tool. The book introduces Go's unique take on object-oriented programming through methods and interfaces, emphasizing encapsulation, composition, and substitutability with realistic examples. Two chapters focus on concurrency, covering goroutines, channels, and shared variables, laying a solid foundation for newcomers to the topic. The final chapters address lower-level features, including metaprogramming with reflection and using the unsafe package for special cases, alongside creating Go bindings for C libraries with cgo. The book is rich with practical examples and exercises to rei

Focusing on enhancing programming effectiveness, this book offers practical advice and real-world examples across various languages, including C, C++, and Java. Kernighan and Pike draw from their extensive experience in programming and teaching to provide valuable insights. The guidance within aims to benefit anyone involved in software development, making it a resource for improving productivity and skills in programming practices.

A tutorial introduction. Types, operators and expressions. Control flow. Functions and program structure. Pointes and arrays. Structures. Input and output. Te Unix system interface; C reference

This rounds out a collection of works by Kernighan. Each book of his covers a different aspect of software, in clear form with logical concepts. This book covers the look and feel of the code itself. As with the other works, some concepts have evolved as languages have evolved and the normal size of software projects has continued to expand. But the book still has many relevant points and is an interesting read for those wanting to delve into how software development as a process has been growing and evolving over time.