I see this book recommended often and I like Petzold's writing. I think this book is excellent introductory book.
However, I bought this book in 2013 and was disappointed. I kept the book in the hopes that my high school and college aged kids might get something out of it. This is a book appropriate for someone new to programming. I don't consider this a book for computer scientists that already have a university degree, since it provides only a very basic introduction to Boolean algebra, logic gates, computer arithmetic. If you know what a NAND gate is and what a XOR instruction does you don't need this book.
For the practicing professional or a serious CS student interested in bits and bytes I might recommend Hackers Delight, Second Edition by Hennry S. Warren Jr.
However, I bought this book in 2013 and was disappointed. I kept the book in the hopes that my high school and college aged kids might get something out of it. This is a book appropriate for someone new to programming. I don't consider this a book for computer scientists that already have a university degree, since it provides only a very basic introduction to Boolean algebra, logic gates, computer arithmetic. If you know what a NAND gate is and what a XOR instruction does you don't need this book.
For the practicing professional or a serious CS student interested in bits and bytes I might recommend Hackers Delight, Second Edition by Hennry S. Warren Jr.