# The Art of Multiprocessor Programming by Herlihy and Shavit

3 Hacker News commenters recommended The Art of Multiprocessor Programming by Herlihy and Shavit and 1 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 2 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** People recommend it as a classic starting point for concurrent programming, with examples in Java. Critics say it is very theoretical and skips practical performance on real hardware.

## Why people recommend it

- Classic starting point for concurrency (2 comments): "a good starting point for concurrent programming" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49836408)) "The classic must-study book." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45925556))
- Includes examples in Java (1 comments): "It includes examples in Java" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45928108))

## What people warn about

- Very theoretical, no hardware performance (1 comments): "It is very theoretical. There is no mention of practical performance considerations on real hardware." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45952046))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs by Abelson and Sussman](https://hackerapproved.com/p/structure-and-interpretation-of-computer-programs.md): 55 recommend
- [The Art of Computer Programming by Donald E. Knuth](https://hackerapproved.com/p/art-of-computer-programming.md): 28 recommend
- [Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs by Abelson and Sussman](https://hackerapproved.com/p/sicp.md): 12 recommend
- [Quantum Computation and Quantum Information by Nielsen and Chuang](https://hackerapproved.com/p/quantum-computation-and-quantum-information.md): 12 recommend
- [Digital Design and Computer Architecture by Harris and Harris](https://hackerapproved.com/p/digital-design-and-computer-architecture.md): 8 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0124159508?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9780124159501) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "The Art of Multiprocessor Programming by Herlihy and Shavit", https://hackerapproved.com/p/art-of-multiprocessor-programming/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).