My answer would not be universal, and it would depend on your background. for example if I was dealing with someone that had a strong background in math I would reach for SICP, an MIT classic https://mitpress.mit.edu/sicp/full-text/book/book.html. It's probably only a good choice for someone who's comfortable thinking abstractly though, and would be super frustrating to most beginners that need to see some immediate progress to feel encouraged to keep progressing. Recently some schools have shed Scheme and teach this course with Python. I think that's probably fine, especially if the student is likely to be checking out job postings and learning Python would be a positive instead of wondering why we're slinging parenthesis. There are some big advantages to manipulating lisp programs though, both mechanically in the text editor but also when you learn that your program can manipulate its own code as data.

If I was dealing with a teenager I would probably try to get them interested in Unity 3D if they like video games (https://unity3d.com/learn/tutorials/topics/scripting/coding-unity-absolute-beginner), or processing sketches with arduino if they like building things (http://forefront.io/a/beginners-guide-to-arduino/). It can be really powerful to show a beginner that they can build something that they would have never thought they were capable of, even if small.

If I was dealing with my Mom (easily distracted, not much experience in any of the sciences) and she had a specific goal in mind for a server-based web app, I would probably start her with https://www.amazon.com/Learn-Program-Second-Facets-Ruby/dp/1934356360 and then roll her into Ruby on Rails.

This is always kind of a tough question because anyone working in the field long enough to provide good insight probably doesn't remember clearly what it was like as a beginner, myself included. My first languages were QBasic and Turbo Pascal, and the first program I was excited about filled the screen with random pixels in random locations and colors. You have a huge leg up, because my best resource at the time was the library, and getting stuck on something could mean days or weeks of confusion.

Probably the main thing we have in common now is that when you build something and reach the next level of enlightenment, you'll get a feeling of pure bliss, but when you scream out in joy and your SO or family member comes running in to see what you're excited about, they're still going to look at you like your crazy. That may go on for years. Enjoy the journey! =]

For people who've made large gains, it's probably a good idea to cash out a portion into a nice diversified portfolio that'll hold up no matter what the economy does. Basically this means index funds/ETFs in a wide range of asset classes: global coverage in stocks, bonds, commodities, real estate, cash, gold. A good book about this I read recently is Adaptive Asset Allocation.

If you've made enough to fund an early retirement, a great book is Work Less, Live More. It has one chapter with similar investment advice, and another telling how to withdraw a safe amount each year to live on. (Basically, 4% max annually of your current portfolio value, or if it's dropped a lot then 95% of what you withdrew the previous year. Less if you want to be extra safe, which is probably a good idea given the likelihood of low stock market returns going forwards.)

If you haven't yet made such large gains, these are still good books to read for long-term planning, and for investing outside of crypto.

Too sweet. Get a good rocking chair and Savor the moments. Take lots of pictures and video. You'll love looking back in the years to come.

Uncle JT also knows the perfect cocktail for teething... Anbesol, Melatonin, Children's Motrin and the book Love You Forever https://www.amazon.com/dp/0920668364/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_9gjQCbPTY1M9J

Don't fight the tears when reading this book. Every. Single. Time.

Big hugs from Kansas City

For me the hardest challenge was finding really valuable cryptocurrencies and figuring out which could be the winner in the long run.

So I put together a short book that helps anyone evaluate and analyse cryptocurrencies for long-term investment. I compressed as much value as possible into this book, I really hope you will like it.
It’s available on Amazon for free: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07588PNMR

During some downtime I've created an Amazon Alexa skill so I can monitor the prices and percentage changes of the top 200 coins hands free, it's been good fun!

"Ethereum has increased by 10% in the last day".

Me: :-D

Adoption

Edit: if anyone in the US wants a try, please do. Multi-region version coming soon.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CQMHRGD?ie=UTF8&ref-suffix=ss_rw

You can download the Etherium Wallet here where you can at least start taking a look at some dev tools. This was also posted on /r/ethereum yesterday and it mentions Truffle which seems like a pretty great resource. Learning JavaScript will be helpful. Oh, and I just remembered there's a humble bundle happening right now that includes a book on Solidity and Ethereum (although you can get just that book as a Kindle version for ten bucks on Amazon). I haven't personally started doing anything with Solidity though, so I can't vouch for how great these resources are. Just passing along the information that I've seen in the last couple days.

I love it:
https://www.amazon.com/Token-Economy-Blockchains-Contracts-Revolutionize/dp/3982103827/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=token+economy+shermin&qid=1564816048&s=gateway&sprefix=token+e&sr=8-1

Somebody needs to ground me again. I am so bullish while reading this book. Give it a try. I thought that I already read a lot and knew how to explain the Ethereum ecosystem and blockchain in general. I was wrong. This book is awesome. Easy to understand, great read, all general topics covered with many references and links for a further deep dive in the topic.
I could convince monkeys to buy Ether after this read.

About the Author

Shermin Voshmgir is the director of the Research Institute for Cryptoeconomics at the Vienna University of Economics, and the founder of BlockchainHub in Berlin. In the past, she was a curator of "The DAO", and advisor to various startups like Jolocom, Wunder and the Estonian E-residency program. In addition to her studies at the Vienna University of Economics, she studied film and drama in Madrid. Her past work experience ranges from Internet startups, research & art. She is Austrian, with Iranian roots, and lives between Vienna and Berlin.

TED Talk with her: https://youtu.be/JPGNvKy6DTA

Here are the things I've found interesting lately. I've probably mentioned them before, so you can just think of this as a rollup.

* Austin Griffith (of the xdai.org burner wallet) created a new class of game called the DAOG (Distributed Autonomous Organization Game). Players create and propose rules during the game to modify game play in real time. Austin describes it in this youtube video. He's also lurking on reddit as /u/austin_concurrence

* Obscure Russian-Canadian Ethereum Researcher Vitalik Buterin sat down with MaiCoin group for an hour long chat. This is a high level discussion about a BUNCH of interesting topics including Ethereum staking, the Hamburger tax (utilized in the Ethtrader banner), copyright, AI, decentralization, and life expectancy. The interview led me to put this upcoming book in my Amazon cart: Radical Markets by Posner & Weyl.

* The Ethereum 2 Phase 0 spec in prose is a long-form English description of the Phase 0 spec with lots of additional information. This is great for those of us who have difficulty interpreting the official spec. This is developed by Vitalik and Danny Ryan, so it's top notch.

* Rocket Pool released a really neat update where they described some potential Eth 2.0 staking node configurations. This article has me REALLY stoked about staking, and debating with myself how much I'll solo stake, and how much I'll stake with Rocketpool. They also have a beta test on the horizon. You can keep up with rocketpool at /r/rocketpool, and ethereum staking in general at /r/ethstaker. This literally makes me want to build out a multi-node Kubernetes cluster for staking. See the Prysmatic note below on why that may not be a great idea.

* I've referred to /u/bitfalls's 9 things you didn't know about Ethereum 2.0, but it is a must read, so don't miss it!

* The Ethereum 2 clients are swimming along nicely, and the one I follow most closely is the Prysmatic Client written in Go by Preston Van Loon and Terrence Tsao. Their Discord channel is well worth following. Their client is aligned with the current spec and a new testnet is on the horizon. Their example shows 64 validators running on a single beacon chain node, this is FAR in excess of the 10 suggested by core devevelopers earlier in the process.

* Matthew Slipper did a deep dive into libp2p progress as it relates to Eth2. Libp2p is the planned network stack for Ethereum 2.

The Decentralized Retirement Plan: The Rise of New and Real Markets (and the author's site offering really interesting investment ideas)

About halfway into it. Nice introduction to crypto that leads into some fairly sophisticated investment schemes. Bonus points for a strong Austrian prospective of the value of crypto in an increasingly capital restricted world.

friend made these shirts for fun -


don't play whale games - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0721RFK3L

hodl - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0721QY382


obviously he makes a bit of money if you buy either but just wanted to share :). he gave me a HODL one and it's actually a pretty nice tee, printed by amazon i think

https://www.amazon.com/Ethereum-Blockchains-Decentralized-Autonomous-Organizations/dp/1523930470/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1506027569&sr=8-1&keywords=ethereum

It's a year old, but is written very straight forward for someone like me, a non-programmer. Also it's fun to see how things are changing/have changed even since then

Just got the book "Ethereum: Blockchains, Digital Assets, Smart Contracts, Decentralized Autonomous Organizations" delivered. Hoping for a good read! https://www.amazon.com/Ethereum-Blockchains-Decentralized-Autonomous-Organizations/dp/1523930470/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1496854273&sr=8-1&keywords=ethereum

I recently read this book:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B06XQFYL2M/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1491480820&sr=8-1

It actually addresses both of your posts and describes, in great detail, what makes ETH so special in comparison with BTC.

There are TONS of additional resources for learning Solidity online, as well. It's an easy language to learn.

Great book. Walks you through everything. Written by IBM's Liason to Ethereum Core.

Ethereum: Blockchains, Digital Assets, Smart Contracts, Decentralized Autonomous Organizations https://www.amazon.com/dp/1523930470/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apip_uYFqCmTS1MtFi

Great list. Making my way through a few of those.

I've also been reading this one:

Ethereum: Blockchains, Digital Assets, Smart Contracts, Decentralized Autonomous Organizations by Henning Diedrich

This is a pretty big deal IMO, and very telling:

#1 Best Seller in Money & Monetary Policy on Amazon

Im in the middle of reading Ethereum: Blockchains, Digital Assets, Smart Contracts, Decentralized Autonomous Organizations I'm loving it so far, it's covering all the terminology, and breaking everything down in a fairly concise way for the layman.

To an extent but not really. He demonstrates some basic solidity programming, but his goal is to provide a thorough explanation of Ethereum, it's uses, and why it differs from other public chains that non-technical people can understand too.

If you want something more technical check this one out https://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Ethereum-Building-Smart-Contracts/dp/1491971940/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1497024427&sr=8-4&keywords=Ethereum

Edit: I know it's not out yet, but it will be one of the better references out there.

https://www.amazon.com/Ethereum-Programming-Alex-Leverington/dp/1786463717/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1497024427&sr=8-7&keywords=Ethereum

This guy isn't half bad if you want one now.

Don't listen to the most optimistic projections.

You could very well be like this guy or this guy.

Nope.

The blog is actually a group of financial analysts, led by Tim Neeks most of whom have made it pretty big investing in natural gas, cryptocurrency and fiat.

• https://www.amazon.com/Decentralized-Retirement-Plan-Rise-Markets-ebook/dp/B01FR0L434
  
  
• http://fintekneeks.com/reader-disclosure/
  
  
• http://fintekneeks.com/fintekneeks-hedge-fund/
  
  You should try reading the articles on this site including the linked one... you might actually learn something.
  
  You might even wind up making more money than what you currently earn from the publicist who pays you to shill bitcoin...

>https://www.amazon.com/Token-Economy-Blockchains-Contracts-Revolutionize/dp/3982103827/ref=mp\_s\_a\_1\_1?keywords=token+economy+shermin&qid=1564816048&s=gateway&sprefix=token+e&sr=8-1

LOL at no e-version of the book. Convincing!

https://www.amazon.com/Trading-Zone-Confidence-Discipline-Attitude/dp/0735201447

I discovered this book thanks to r/ethtrader. Giving it a boost here.


Trading is a stream of infinite possibilities. You can't enter it with a mindset of "I must always be right to make money," because you will never be always right.

​

Hodl on for dear life. People have money at stake and they all want yours. Welcome to the jungle.....and get yourself a Ledger Nano S before someone sticks a keylogger on your computer and steals all your coins from the comfort of their home.

A "just launched" seller is selling it for 39 USD on Amazon. I'm thinking to jump on one. Is it safe to buy a LNS from sellers other than the official distributors https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/ol/B01J66NF46/ref=mw_dp_olp?ie=UTF8&condition=all.

Having knowledge of object oriented programming helped me a bit going in.
I found a lot of similarities in logic of central-server game-engine network synchronization and smart-contract programming.
Such as an expected data object to be synchronized to clients(nodes) with authority from the server(blockchain consensus/validation/contract setup) . Users(address) can send requests(transactions) to the server to update things, and cause logic mechanisms to act.

A book I can recommend to see if you'll enjoy the aspiration of working in blockchain tech,
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1523930470/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The path I've seen people follow is -
Getting an address and using a private wallet.
Using and understanding how a hardware wallet works.
Then playgrounding contracts in a private chain or Remix(online compiler), until they can make little tools.

edit: had two book links, one was no longer available.

Only one I’m aware of is the pre-order for Andreas’ new book Mastering Ethereum - but that’s not out til early next year:

Mastering Ethereum: Building Smart Contracts and Dapps

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1491971940/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_B5bJzbCPSARX2

Amazon is offering the Ledger Nano S as a lightning deal for $69.99 if anyone is interested.

also

​

https://www.amazon.com/Business-Blanks-Customer-Engraving-Optional/dp/B075GPGPT1/ref=pd_cp_229_4?pd_rd_w=Bh4eS&pf_rd_p=ef4dc990-a9ca-4945-ae0b-f8d549198ed6&pf_rd_r=0NQT12NEGHDY2S53KVW5&pd_rd_r=6c468fbc-5e32-11e9-a6d1-89beb44619b8&pd_rd_wg=VW1n6&pd_rd_i=B075GPGPT1&psc=1&refRID=0NQT12NEGHDY2S53KVW5

​

although I am not sure what the implications of using aluminum vs steel? I imagine steel is stronger?

I can highly recommend Ethereum: Blockchains, Digital Assets, Smart Contracts, Decentralized Autonomous Organizations.

I also just received notice that Consensys released their first blockchain/Ethereum book about an hour ago which can be found here. I obviously haven't read this yet but plan to do so within the next few weeks.

Lol, I think Gavin Wood & Andreas kind of have that covered.

Yes it is https://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Ethereum-Building-Smart-Contracts/dp/1491971940

yes this it the one in question. https://www.amazon.com/Ledger-Nano-Cryptocurrency-hardware-wallet/product-reviews/B01J66NF46/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_hist_1?filterByStar=one_star&pageNumber=1

Ledger Nano S available for $50 on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Ledger-Nano-Cryptocurrency-Hardware-Wallet/dp/B01J66NF46/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?keywords=ledger+nano+s&qid=1551052840&s=gateway&sr=8-3

Introducing Ethereum and Solidity Chris Dannen

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XQFYL2M/ref=oh_aui_d_detailpage_o01_?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Get a Ledger Nano S asap! Keep all your other Eth on there.

Hey anyone know what that book was called about token economics that everyone was talking about in here the other day?

found it: https://www.amazon.com/Token-Economy-Blockchains-Contracts-Revolutionize/dp/3982103827

Ethereum by Henning Diedrich

https://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Ethereum-Building-Smart-Contracts/dp/1491971940

https://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Ethereum-Building-Smart-Contracts/dp/1491971940/

Some time this year.

According to Amazon.com, it's available for pre-order and will release on July 25, 2017. Of course this may or may not be accurate. Cheers!

For the lazy:

Introducing Ethereum and Solidity: Foundations of Cryptocurrency and Blockchain Programming for Beginners by Chris Dannen http://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XQFYL2M/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_udp_api_zY8.yb1RR3MYB

Link for the lazy: https://www.amazon.com/Ethereum-Blockchains-Decentralized-Autonomous-Organizations/dp/1523930470