Why Am I Making This Post?
I am posting this list here for three reasons:
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These books will obviously be of interest to everyone on Stacker News, and I would like everyone’s feedback and opinions.
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Secondly, I hope to incorporate some of the comments and/or criticisms of these books into the guide section of my bitcoin beginners newsletter directory. The learning resources page I have pinned to the territory is still not editable, so I will probably remove it soon and instead incorporate the best resources in the newsletter each week. If you have strong feelings about any of the books on this list, please reply. Also, please mention other books that I have not included.
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Finally, I think it is important that we produce really good reviews of bitcoin books here on Stacker News. This territory has no shortage of book reviews. The reviews I imagine would do justice to the time and effort put in by these authors, and could also serve as a wonderful way to orange pill normies and promote Stacker News. I gave this a try with my review of the Genesis Book, but I’m frankly disappointed with my efforts. I really enjoyed the book, but looking back, I did not give my post the time and effort the book deserved. I intend to try again. When I’m satisfied with a review, I will promote it on nostr and maybe even substack. I will also include it in the Learning Resources section of the bitcoin beginners newsletter.
The Bitcoin Standard
by Saifedean Ammous
This book is considered by many to be the best explanation of bitcoin ever published.
Broken Money
by Lyn Alden.
This book will teach you about bitcoin while also teaching you everything you will ever need to know about money. Lyn Alden has given us a masterpiece. Read what The X Project has to say about it here.
Bitcoin Is Venice
by Allen Farrington and Sacha Meyers
"Entertaining and erudite, this is a manifesto for a more ethical monetary and financial system, for capitalism in its purest form and for 'number go up' technology. This book bridges the gap between the concept of an open-source sound money and the practical reality of an ethical and workable financial system."
--Harris Irfan, author of Heaven’s Bankers
The Bullish Case For Bitcoin
by Vijay Boyapati.
This is considered the best non technical introduction to bitcoin. It’s probably most useful for older people and those who have trouble using their computers and phones.
Mastering Bitcoin
by Andreas M. Antonopolous
The first few chapters of this book are an excellent, non technical introduction to bitcoin. The rest of the book gets technical, but if you feel up to it, challenge yourself. In my opinion Andreas Antonopolous is a brilliant advocate for bitcoin and a talented teacher. He can explain bitcoin in an understandable way for the beginner, but can also explain the technical intricacies.
The Genesis Book
by Aaron Van Wirdum
This is the book to read if you want to learn about the history of cryptography, the cypherpunk movement, and the people who made bitcoin possible.
This is what Tuur Demeester said about the book:
“I long suspected that van Wirdum was Bitcoin’s best historian, and this page-turner proves it. It’s a tour de force.
The Genesis Book is a highly readable and essential history, revealing the many causal connections between Viennese Classical Liberalism, the Anglo-Saxon Cypherpunk movement, and the advent of Bitcoin.
Whereas other books on the industry have tended to focus on headline-making entrepreneurs, van Wirdum has the technical chops to dig under the surface and correctly identify the brilliant figures who built the foundations on top of which the Bitcoin edifice was eventually engineered.
Over the course of 16 dense chapters, The Genesis Book combines the kind of in-depth research and philosophical connections that one could only expect from an industry veteran (van Wirdum was one of the first writers to ever gain employment in the Bitcoin industry), with the engaging prose you’d look for in a respected periodical.
One cannot understand Bitcoin without studying its extraordinary origins, and I’m thrilled this book exists to bring that knowledge to a wide audience.”
Resistance Money
by Andrew M Bailey, Bradley Rettler, and Craig Warmke
The subtitle is “A Philosophical Case For Bitcoin.”
Here’s what Alex Gladstein said about the book:
“Resistance Money is a piece of world-class scholarship that illuminates bitcoin as a way of resisting oppression. The book is accessible to all, including those with no previous knowledge of bitcoin. It will leave them packed with insights about the rise of Satoshi's new monetary technology and where it might take us tomorrow.”
Cryptosovereignty
The Encrypted Political Philosophy Of Bitcoin
by Erik Cason
Here’s what Gigi had to say:
I consider Cason’s book one of the most important works since the publication of the Cypherpunk Manifesto . Everyone who takes Bitcoin seriously should read it; those who don’t should read it twice.
— Der Gigi, Author of 21 Lessons
21 Lessons
by Gigi.
Through Gigi’s web page you can either buy the book from amazon or read it for free online and send Gigi value for value sats. Gigi turned a series of articles he wrote into a book. He has his own writing style. You will learn a lot from the book.
Digital Gold
by Nathaniel Popper
This book is a history of bitcoin, rather than a book written to teach you about bitcoin. Still, it is well written and very entertaining, and you will learn a lot incidentally.
The Price Of Tomorrow
by Jeff Booth
“As someone who understands the exponential rate that technology is advancing, Jeff Booth has a unique ability to connect the dots to something bigger in this must read book. Few books offer a more succinct, provocative, and enlightening view of the world as it is today, and what it could be tomorrow. Your world view will transform instantly.”
Salim Ismail
Layered Money
Nik Bhatia
From Goodreads:
“In this fascinating deep dive into the evolution of monetary systems around the globe, Nik Bhatia takes us into the origins of how money has evolved to function in a layered manner.”
