# The Annotated Turing by Charles Petzold

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/annotated-turing/

5 people recommended The Annotated Turing by Charles Petzold in Hacker News comments and none criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 3 of 12 months, in 3 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Recommended as an accessible, insightful walk through Turing's 1936 paper on computable numbers, mixing biography with technical analysis; no criticism appeared in the quotes.

Summary written by Claude from 4 comments.

## Why people recommend it

- Mixes biography with technical analysis (1 comment in the sample): "I didn't know you could meaningfully intertwine biography and technical analysis like that." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49733183))
- Changed reader's path into computer science (1 comment in the sample): "got me into CS vs. prior interest mainly in EE" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47386554))
- Described as great (1 comment in the sample): "The Annotated Turing is great." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49288206))

## Other computer science books people recommend

- [The Garbage Collection Handbook by Jones, Hosking and Moss](https://hackerapproved.com/p/garbage-collection-handbook/): 12 recommend, 2 mixed, 5 criticize
- [Beej's Guide to Learning Computer Science by Brian Hall](https://hackerapproved.com/p/beej-s-guide-to-learning-computer-science/): 12 recommend, 3 mixed, 2 criticize
- [Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software by Charles Petzold](https://hackerapproved.com/p/code-the-hidden-language-of-computer-hardware-and-software/): 11 recommend, 1 mixed, 0 criticize
- [Code by Charles Petzold](https://hackerapproved.com/p/code/): 7 recommend, 0 mixed, 1 criticize

## The badge

A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged.

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "The Annotated Turing by Charles Petzold", https://hackerapproved.com/p/annotated-turing/ (5 recommend, 0 mixed, 0 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026).

Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.