# Usborne 1980s Computer Books

12 Hacker News commenters recommended Usborne 1980s Computer Books and 2 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 2 of 13 months; owners who said how long report a median of 26 years (3 owners).

**Verdict:** Many readers learned to program from these books as kids, praising clear instructions and cover art. The main caveat is that they are out of date.

## Why people recommend it

- Taught readers to program (4 comments): "i have learned so much from these books. I owe my current carreer to them, probably" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48263307)) "The Usborne books were the single strongest teacher I had getting into coding." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48261900)) "These are actually how I first learned to program" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48258563))
- Clear instructions and cover art (2 comments): "The blend of clear instruction and evocative old-school art remains fantastic" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48259148)) "They were excellent. Fantastic cover art too." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48258943))
- Influential classics, read repeatedly (3 comments): "These were some of the most influential books of my youth, teaching a generation of young kids quite advanced topics." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48259095)) "I was fascinated with these and read them many times cover to cover over the years." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48262431)) "the Usborne series are classics" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48441024))

## What people warn about

- Outdated for modern platforms (2 comments): "These books are well out of date, hence they're being offered free." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48263750)) "they need to be updated for a modern platform (not Python)" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48258507))

## 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=Usborne+1980s+Computer+Books&tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Usborne 1980s Computer Books", https://hackerapproved.com/p/usborne-1980s-computer-books/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).