# Machine Code for Beginners by Usborne

5 Hacker News commenters recommended Machine Code for Beginners by Usborne and 0 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 2 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** People recommend it as a clear, comprehensive introduction to low-level computing and machine code, still useful despite its age.

## Why people recommend it

- Teaches low-level computer concepts well (2 comments): "It's actually very good. I remember reading it at age 11 or so, and coming away knowing much more low-level stuff about computers" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48259270)) "I learned about machine code and two's complement from the Machine Code for Beginners book." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48261900))
- Bridged gap for young learners (2 comments): "If my school's library had had Machine Code for Beginners, my career might have been very different." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48258694)) "their machine code book(s) would've been the link I needed to bridge the gap" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48261618))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Crafting Interpreters by Robert Nystrom](https://hackerapproved.com/p/crafting-interpreters.md): 60 recommend
- [Clean Code by Robert C. Martin](https://hackerapproved.com/p/clean-code.md): 31 recommend
- [The Pragmatic Programmer by Hunt and Thomas](https://hackerapproved.com/p/pragmatic-programmer.md): 28 recommend
- [How to Design Programs by Felleisen, Findler, Flatt and Krishnamurthi](https://hackerapproved.com/p/how-to-design-programs.md): 18 recommend
- [Mastering Emacs by Mickey Petersen](https://hackerapproved.com/p/mastering-emacs.md): 17 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Machine+Code+for+Beginners+by+Usborne&tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Machine Code for Beginners by Usborne", https://hackerapproved.com/p/machine-code-for-beginners/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).