# Seven Languages in Seven Weeks by Bruce Tate

3 Hacker News commenters recommended Seven Languages in Seven Weeks by Bruce Tate and 0 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 3 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** A quick, hands-on introduction to several programming languages, one per week, that readers find fun when used right.

## Why people recommend it

- Quick introduction to languages (1 comments): "It's described in Seven Languages in Seven Weeks, if you want a quick intro." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48753558))
- Introduced readers to Erlang (1 comments): "I discovered Erlang from Bruce Tate's book" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45887019))
- Fun when used right (1 comments): "Very fun book when used right." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48395673))

## 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/dp/193435659X?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9781934356593) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Seven Languages in Seven Weeks by Bruce Tate", https://hackerapproved.com/p/seven-languages-in-seven-weeks/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).