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A comment on Ask HN: What's the best computer science book you've read recently?. Parent comment

Re:Ask HN: What's the best computer science book you've read... by amai on Monday January 16, 2017 @10:32AM (#13410477)
This book is highly overrated. Algorithms by Sedgewick (http://algs4.cs.princeton.edu/home/) is a much better book for learning and understanding algorithms. Skienas book is a simple collection of (sometimes very exotic) algorithms. It won't teach you anything, it will only tell you what exists.
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Re:Ask HN: What's the best computer science book you've read... by amai on Monday January 16, 2017 @10:44AM (#13410567)
The book of Sedgewick is based on his lectures http://www.cs.princeton.edu/courses/archive/fall12/cos226/le... .

Here you will also find a important chapter that unfortunately didn't make it into the book:

https://www.cs.princeton.edu/courses/archive/fall12/cos226/l...

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Re:Ask HN: What's the best computer science book you've read... by bogomipz on Tuesday January 17, 2017 @01:32AM (#13415598)
I'm glad to hear someone else say that because the book seems to get high marks and recommendations but I didn't care for it at all. I thought it was just me. I just don't think he has a very engaging writing style.

The second half of the book is "the catalog" of algorithms and I guess maybe that's what people like but the I had so few "a ha" moments reading the book that I got to page 130 before I threw i the towel.

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Re:Ask HN: What's the best computer science book you've read... by denzil_correa on Monday January 16, 2017 @10:33AM (#13410485)
> Skienas book is a simple collection of (sometimes very exotic) algorithms

It has the same material as Sedgewick, doesn't it?

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Re:Ask HN: What's the best computer science book you've read... by amai on Monday January 16, 2017 @11:05AM (#13410713)
No, I believe there are more algorithms listed in Skienas book. But from Skienas book you will barely understand them and it won't teach you how to really implement them. Sedgewicks book is much better in that respect. One can compile and run the given Java examples and actually play around with them. Skienas book is a good reference for postdocs in algorithmic design. Sedgewicks book on the other hand is for people who actually want to implement these algorithms.
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