# TCP/IP Illustrated by W. Richard Stevens

7 Hacker News commenters recommended TCP/IP Illustrated by W. Richard Stevens and 1 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 6 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Recommended as the most authentic source on TCP/IP and a reference that is helpful again and again. Critics say it is a less than ideal introductory textbook.

## Why people recommend it

- Authoritative, packet-level TCP/IP explanation (2 comments): "Internet engineering, packet by packet. Slow going, but I'm into it." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49911691)) "still the most authentic source of all things TCP/IP related" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47706674))
- Deepens practical networking understanding (2 comments): "I definitely understand networking better than the majority of programmers at my company because I read Stevens' TCP/IP Illustrated 10 years back" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48279281)) "that progressed me from the larval hacker stage" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45911834))
- Useful reference to return to (2 comments): "That makes for a very good supplemental reference, but makes for a less than ideal introductory textbook" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46556115)) "is not of the same quality, both in content and physical properties." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46350147))

## What people warn about

- Weak as an introductory textbook (1 comments): "That makes for a very good supplemental reference, but makes for a less than ideal introductory textbook" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46556115))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [The Book of PF by Peter N. M. Hansteen](https://hackerapproved.com/p/book-of-pf-4th-edition.md): 5 recommend
- [High-Performance Browser Networking by Ilya Grigorik](https://hackerapproved.com/p/high-performance-browser-networking.md): 4 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=TCP%2FIP+Illustrated+by+Stevens&tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "TCP/IP Illustrated by W. Richard Stevens", https://hackerapproved.com/p/tcp-ip-illustrated/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).