Once Upon an Algorithm: How Stories Explain Computing

It turns out that simple stories and fairy tales like Hansel and Gretel hold within them examples of computing processes and algorithms. Martin Erwig is a computer scientist who understands the power of stories. He has found that dozens of critical, foundational computing processes and concepts can be found in tales, books, and movies and explained with ease using scenes from these stories. 

The author takes readers on a romp through computing and teaches basic and even advanced computational and programmatic concepts with a flair that one rarely sees. Erwig is a true inter-disciplinarian with his grasp of the story and the algorithm concepts, coupled with his ability to bring it all together in a highly comprehensible book. Computing novices or complete outsiders can learn a variety of computing concepts with this book. Sorting, control flow structures, data representation and data structures, problem solving, recursion, types and abstraction are all covered in understandable language and with comparisons that make the concepts clear for non computer scientists.

The inner workings of computers and their programming and are an undeniable and permanent part of our world. It is probably a good idea for everybody to know a little bit about how programs work. And lucky for us it is as simple as reading this book and recalling stories many of us all grew up with.