Everything here I have read, vetted, and highly recommend.
Some have affiliate links but I'm not associated with the authors in any way - they're just good resources.
About me
The godfather of modern startups. All of Paul's essays are worth reading. Some highlights: Do things that don't scale, How to start a start up, How to make wealth, Startup = Growth, How People Get Rich Now, How to do Great Work, and everything else.
Heuristics for validating ideas and figuring out what's worth building. There's also a short lecture that goes along with it and gives you the high level ideas.
A succint overview of the major pieces involved in a startup.
Guides on just about every topic an early founder needs to know about. Some of my favorites are: Your First 10 Customers, and The SaaS Business Model.
I like that Sam's writings aren't just re-hashing stuff that Paul's written but are instead more like honest reflections. Some of my favorites: How To Be Successful, Productivity, Idea Generation.
A primer on the legal stuff you need to know when doing a start up or starting any type of company.
A thorough look at what you need to know as a start up founder that wants to raise VC money without getting screwed.
Useful if you're looking to join a start up as an employee but aren't familiar with options or how start ups tend to compensate employees.
Short crash course on sales for founders.
An overview of the enterprise selling process.
A framework for selling B2B SaaS.
Succint overview of the potential landmines during M & A. Tread carefully. I say this from experience.
A great intro to programming that gives you practical examples of how to do useful things. The whole book is online for free here. There's also a paperback here if you prefer that.
This is the book that will take you from being someone who hacks away at Python until it works, to someone who understands computers. It's thicker than a bible, but these are the foundations of computer systems and are worth understanding. You can find lectures to accompany the book here and the course that the book was written for here.
A useful introduction for learning how to scale large distributed systems.
Part 1 of the series I recommend to those who want to understand how a compiler works. I recommend everyone read both parts.
The resource I recommend to everyone looking to learn C++.
The second book everyone should read about C++. It does a good job of explaining the different parts of C++ and gives heuristics for when to avoid certain features.
Short playlist of videos that give an overview of the process for getting linux into embedded applications.
If you ever find yourself in the unfortunate situation where you have to package linux on an embedded system yourself, this is a good starting point.
The go-to prep book for interviews that focus on data structures & algorithms. 🤮
The best resource for learning about state estimation, Kalman Filters, etc.
A great resource if you just want to focus on Kalman Filters. I bought the book a long time ago and it is well worth the money.
A thorough but practical overview of estimation.
The best resource for learning modern control theory. I hope to one day meet Prof. Tedrake and tell him thanks for this invaluable resource.
A succint overview of modeling a quadcopter and some techniques for control.
A look at different techniques for modeling and controlling a quadcopter when compared to the previous item. Sometimes having different authors explain the same topic helps to understand it better.
A more in-depth look at quadcopter modeling and control. This is the thesis of one of the authors from the previous resource so there will be some overlap.
A simple 2D model for a car along with an intro to path planning using an RRT.
A great intro to trajectory optimization.
A model for a differential drive vehicle. If you want start messing with a model to do path planning, estimation, controls, etc. this is the one to start with.
Phenomenal 5 minute video that gives you all the intuition you'll need for PID control.
A playground with a set of control challenges to test out and learn various control methods.
My favorite academic paper. If all papers were written like this one, the world would be a better place.
A great set of notes for starting to learn about computer vision.
A great post for understanding cameras and how they make images.
A succint overview of visual odometry.
A thorough look at modeling lenses with high distortion (Fisheye, etc.)
SLAM is a hodgepodge of state estimation, computer vision, filtering, and other topics depending on who you ask. The following resources are useful but it's tough to learn about SLAM since the approaches vary widely. The only consistent feature across SLAM systems is that they do some form of loop closure.
Often treated as the bible of SLAM, but I would complement it with resources about Computer Vision and State Estimation.
A great overview of how the popular SLAM systems built with RGB-D cameras similar to the Microsoft Kinect work.
If you prefer to learn with videos instead of books, this is where you should start learning about modern ML.
This is one of those resources I can't believe is free. A true gift to humanity.
This is a series of 3 books that give a great overview of ray tracing. The first book, Ray Tracing in One Weekend, is the book I recommend to those who are first starting to get into computer graphics. The entire series is worth reading and is completely free online.
Perhaps the most thorough writing I have ever seen on a subject. A wonderful resource and my go-to for all things computer graphics.
An introductory course on computer graphics.The accompanying lectures can be found here.
Once you've used the previous resources for learning about computer graphics, this book will give you breakdown and explanation of a fully working modern ray tracer and the parts that go into it.
Perhaps the best learning resource for any subject ever.
If when you think of linear algebra you just see numbers and matrices, give this a watch. If you're learning about linear algebra for the first time, this is a must watch.
The book that made linear algebra "click" for me and showed me why it's useful. Everything is well motivated and practical. Use this as a guide when learning about linear algebra or machine learning.
An introduction to all the numerical programming and math you'll ever need to know.
The bible of Convex Optimization. Useful for knowing which optimization problems can be solved "easily".
Once you've read Make: Electronics and want to go deeper, this is the one I recommend.
Great playlist of videos for learning PCB layout and design.
What do people mean when they say "Computers are just ones and zeroes"? This book will show you. You start with a transistor and build up to CPUs and memory. Reading this one then CSAPP will give you a phenomenal understanding of how computers work.
Useful as a desktop reference once you've already mastered the topic, not as a book to learn from.
This is my favorite technical book. You get an understanding of all the different parts of an RC quadcopter system then you write the flight control firmware. I wish I had this when I was younger and looking into drones, but I'm just happy it exists.
Great for understanding how aircraft broadcast their location.
The finance knowledge that everyone should know explained by Sal Khan himself. This should be required reading/viewing in school.
Another one that should be required reading in school. A practical guide to learning financial statements and basic accounting. This is the one you should read so that you can get basic accounting down and then move on with your life.
The book everyone recommends when looking at payments and FinTech in general. I recommend reading this one after The Anatomy of the Swipe so you can get a better feel for the concepts.
Great newsletter with a deep archive for learning about the intersection of financial services and tech.
A succint overview of what quants do and how a quantitative trading system works without any math.
A good intro to quantitative finance with all the fancy math that goes along with it.
This is my favorite non-technical book. It traces the evolution of corporations starting with the Medici all the way to Facebook. I highly recommend it.
My favorite of Isaacson's books. It traces the path of computers from Lovelace to Netscape.
The history of the last 150 years through the lens of oil. My second favorite non-technical book. I highly recommend it.
A succint overview of Carnegie, Vanderbilt, Rockefeller, JP Morgan, and the Gilded Age.
Jay Gould is the often forgotten figure of the Gilded age. If Gould was alive today he would be a private equity guy launching hostile takeovers.
Rockefeller biography. Thick but worth the read. It's crazy how many oil companies today trace their roots back to Standard Oil.
"if you don't learn to constantly revise your earlier conclusions, and get better ones, ... you're like a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest." - Charlie Munger
Reflections and wisdom from the guy that led the iPod & iPhone projects then went on to found Nest. This is the first time I saw a leader own up to the fact that some decisions that are made during the product development stage are based on opinion.
A surprisingly honest account of Charles Schwab's founding of the Charles Schwab Corporation.
Yes, Pizza gets a section all to itself.
Once you've read Elements of Pizza, read this one to learn how deep the world of pizza can go.