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kathrinpassig's review against another edition
4.0
Ideale Kombination von leserfreundlicher Darstellung und Autorenkompetenz. Wissenschaftler sind nicht immer selbst in der Lage, ein für normale Leser angenehmes und verständliches Buch zu schreiben, so dass man sich meistens entscheiden muss, was wichtiger ist: detaillierte Fachkenntnis oder lesbare Darstellung. Hier ist beides drin. Weil sich das Thema schnell weiterentwickelt, ist das Buch nicht mehr ganz aktuell (2016 erschienen, der Inhalt endet aber beim Stand von 2015), das hat mich aber nicht gestört und war an vielen Stellen sogar ganz interessant als historischer Einblick. Außerdem haben die Autoren Entwicklungen, von denen sie noch nichts wissen konnten (das Ethereum/DAO-Debakel) schon ziemlich genau vorhergesehen. Nur vier Sterne und nicht fünf, weil manche Kapitel mich dann doch nicht ganz so brennend interessiert haben.
erikars's review against another edition
5.0
This textbook contains an in depth technical discussion of how bitcoin, and blockchains in general, work. It also covers the non-technical challenges associated with cryptocurrency and bitcoin in particular. While introduction to bitcoin articles give some idea of how bitcoin works, it took a deeper treatment like this to feel like I understood the details.
As someone who is mainly interested in blockchain as a technology rather than bitcoin in particular, the discussion of how the incentives for mining interact with the blockchain technology was particularly interesting because a non-currency blockchain is going to necessarily have a different incentive structure than a currency where the blockchain can generate and transfer value to reward mining.
By the way, a draft PDF of the book, which is what I read, is available from the authors: http://bitcoinbook.cs.princeton.edu/
As someone who is mainly interested in blockchain as a technology rather than bitcoin in particular, the discussion of how the incentives for mining interact with the blockchain technology was particularly interesting because a non-currency blockchain is going to necessarily have a different incentive structure than a currency where the blockchain can generate and transfer value to reward mining.
By the way, a draft PDF of the book, which is what I read, is available from the authors: http://bitcoinbook.cs.princeton.edu/
arkron's review against another edition
4.0
Browsing around, you'll find lots of ressources online, but not many concise and well-structured books going deeper and doing more than reaping low-hanging fruits. My hope and expectation with this book was that it will bring me
a balanced view on the topic (unlike one of those "Make Money Fast!" books)
a broader view than only technological - i.e. ethical, legal, or social implications should be discussed instead of explaining platform APIs
In summary, this book fulfilled my expectations, was well worth the reading time, and I absolutely recommend it.
It is easily readable, gives many concrete examples, shows where different implementation paths could lead.
Full review at my review blog.
a balanced view on the topic (unlike one of those "Make Money Fast!" books)
a broader view than only technological - i.e. ethical, legal, or social implications should be discussed instead of explaining platform APIs
In summary, this book fulfilled my expectations, was well worth the reading time, and I absolutely recommend it.
It is easily readable, gives many concrete examples, shows where different implementation paths could lead.
Full review at my review blog.
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