Usborne 1980s Computer Books
Ranked 11 of 115 programming books by recommenders
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 The main caveat is that they are out of date.
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 The main caveat is that they are out of date.
14 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 12
- criticize it
- 2
- approval share
- 86%
Recommended in 2 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Owned for 26 years
Median of the 3 owners who said how long they have had it.
Each square is one year.
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 12 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 6 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 2 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Taught readers to program
“i have learned so much from these books. I owe my current carreer to them, probably”
Comment from 25 May 2026 in “Usborne 1980s Computer Books” “The Usborne books were the single strongest teacher I had getting into coding.”
Comment from 24 May 2026 in “Usborne 1980s Computer Books” “These are actually how I first learned to program”
Comment from 24 May 2026 in “Usborne 1980s Computer Books” - Comment from 24 May 2026 in “Usborne 1980s Computer Books”
Clear instructions and cover art
“The blend of clear instruction and evocative old-school art remains fantastic”
Comment from 24 May 2026 in “Usborne 1980s Computer Books” “They were excellent. Fantastic cover art too.”
Comment from 24 May 2026 in “Usborne 1980s Computer Books” Influential classics, read repeatedly
“These were some of the most influential books of my youth, teaching a generation of young kids quite advanced topics.”
Comment from 24 May 2026 in “Usborne 1980s Computer Books” “I was fascinated with these and read them many times cover to cover over the years.”
Comment from 25 May 2026 in “Usborne 1980s Computer Books” “the Usborne series are classics”
Comment from 8 Jun 2026 in “Win16 Memory Management”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Outdated for modern platforms
“These books are well out of date, hence they're being offered free.”
Comment from 25 May 2026 in “Usborne 1980s Computer Books” “they need to be updated for a modern platform (not Python)”
Comment from 24 May 2026 in “Usborne 1980s Computer Books”
Other programming books people recommend
The four most recommended other programming books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crafting Interpretersby Robert Nystrom | 60 | 4 | 94% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Clean Codeby Robert C. Martin | 31 | 87 | 26% | 9 | — | — |
| The Pragmatic Programmerby Andy Hunt and Dave Thomas | 28 | 1 | 97% | 7 | — | Approved |
| How to Design Programsby Matthias Felleisen and Robert Bruce Findler and Matthew Flatt and Shriram Krishnamurthi | 18 | 2 | 90% | 7 | — | Approved |
| Usborne 1980s Computer BooksThis page | 12 | 2 | 86% | 2 | 26 yrs3 owners | — |
What people said
All 14 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“the Usborne series are classics”
“These books are well out of date, hence they're being offered free.”
“i have learned so much from these books. I owe my current carreer to them, probably”
“I was fascinated with these and read them many times cover to cover over the years.”
“The Usborne books were the single strongest teacher I had getting into coding.”
“The books were about removing superfluous barriers, not adding them!”
“The blend of clear instruction and evocative old-school art remains fantastic”
“These were some of the most influential books of my youth, teaching a generation of young kids quite advanced topics.”
“these books are perfect for him to toy around with”
“I learned to program with some of these books.”
“They were excellent. Fantastic cover art too.”
“This was really cool to see life as a kid in '84”
“These are actually how I first learned to program”
“they need to be updated for a modern platform (not Python)”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.