# Concrete Mathematics by Graham, Knuth and Patashnik

7 Hacker News commenters recommended Concrete Mathematics by Graham, Knuth and Patashnik and 0 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 4 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Recommended for preparing readers for hard problems and for its summation techniques, and many find it a joy to read.

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Algorithms for Optimization by Kochenderfer and Wheeler](https://hackerapproved.com/p/algorithms-for-optimization.md): 10 recommend
- [Mathematics for Computer Science by Lehman, Leighton and Meyer](https://hackerapproved.com/p/mathematics-for-computer-science.md): 8 recommend
- [Numerical Recipes by Press et al.](https://hackerapproved.com/p/numerical-recipes.md): 7 recommend
- [Start Doing Graph Theory by Sam Burns](https://hackerapproved.com/p/start-doing-graph-theory.md): 7 recommend
- [Visual Complex Analysis by Tristan Needham](https://hackerapproved.com/p/visual-complex-analysis.md): 5 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0134389980?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9780134389981) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Concrete Mathematics by Graham, Knuth and Patashnik", https://hackerapproved.com/p/concrete-mathematics/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).