The famous book publisher Hayward Cirker, the founder of Dover Publications built a fortune on finding obscure books that had either gone out of print or escaped publication altogether, and printing them himself. Among his many successes you’ll find amazing books on mathematics and physics including The Theory of Relativity, The Thirteen Books of the Elements and Number Theory.
Since I was a kid I’ve read, and loved, the Dover series on mathematics. Very often (although not always) the books were written in a gentle way, guiding the reader through an understanding of the basic principles and then building on them throughout the book.
Now imagine a series of computer science books along this vein.1
Due to the difference in the publishing model of computer science texts it’s unlikely that there are many good books out there that not only follow a Dover-esque model, but that have also gone out of print. However, that’s not to say that there are not amazing books to be had given the existing material. Imagine this book:
The fantasy book “Augment” might include:2
Now, I have no idea if a book like this could ever see publication due to the rights involved, but I hope that the intent is clear. Another:
Might conceivably including:
I would buy these books in a heartbeat.
Additionally, I would love to see a series of new books geared toward solidifying a base level of knowledge and building toward more complex topics. For example:
And of course:
Or what about:
I’d like to read:
And also:
The possibilities are endless.
There are books that right now fit into this model, including, but not limited to:
The goal of such a small publisher like the one that I have in my dreams4 is to provide like-quality/accessibility books at a fraction of the price. In summary, the publisher would need to follow the following track:
Can it be done?
There is nothing stopping someone from going on to LuLu or Leanpub 5 and publishing these types of books right now. I would love to see them happen whether they come from a publishing house or through self-publishing channels. Just make it so. My money awaits.
:F 6
I see 6x9 paperbacks, perfect-bound or saddle-stitched depending on the page count. Full color with syntax highlighting would be ideal, but maybe too costly.↩︎
As it stands the “Augment” book may be reality. The New Media Reader includes the essays listed above (Engelbart’s is an abridgment I believe) as well as essays and fiction by: Borges, Turing, Licklider, Sutherland, Negroponte, Nelson, Kay, Papert, Winograd and many others. It looks great. I’ve ordered a copy.↩︎
Disclosure: I’ve not read it, but people whom I respect say that this book fits.↩︎
This seems like a wonderful plan for a kick-starter, but alas I’m probably not the person to run it. I’d be happy to help though. (hint hint)↩︎
In fact, I plan to try my hand at Leanpub some time this year.↩︎
Cover images by aisforangie, 28misguidedsouls, jurek_durczak, crystalwriter and 17483452@N00.↩︎