The Little LISPer, Third Edition [Paperback]

Daniel P. Friedman (Author), Matthias Felleisen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 30, 1989 | ISBN-10: 0023397632 | ISBN-13: 978-0023397639 | Edition: 3

There are surprises in store for the diligent reader of this masterful introduction to recursion as a fundamental tool for expressing and solving problems. With wit and wisdom, The Little LISPer unfolds some of the most beautiful concepts in mathematics, computer science, and logic.

The authors' goal is to show that recursive thinking is first of all fun, that it is powerful, and that the programming language Lisp allows one to express ideas recursively and naturally. There are hard problems along the way, but their solution brings mastery of recursive, functional, and meta-linguistic abstractions, developing skills in the underlying creative programming in Lisp. The Little LISPer is self-contained: an interpreter for the language is developed using the tools of the book itself .

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is a wonderful extension of an already lovely book. Dan Friedman and Matthias Felleisen are in love with recursive thinking, and with Lisp as a vehicle for explaining it.... The authors carry total novices from childish 'toys' all the way to extremely abstract concepts deep in the heart of logic and computation. And yet from beginning to end, it's done with humor and obvious, infectious joy ... by no means just another guide to programming tricks and tools ... it is a rich, spicy, deep dish. If it were a pizza I would love eating it!"
- Douglas Hofstadter, author of Gödel, Escher, Bach



"Many readers will be delighted and edified by Friedman and Felleisen's novel approach to the recursive programming language Lisp."
- Raymond Smullyan, author of To Mock a Mockingbird --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Daniel P. Friedman is Professor of Computer Science at Indiana University and is the author of many books published by the MIT Press, including The Little Schemer (fourth edition, 1995), The Seasoned Schemer (1995), A Little Java, A Few Patterns (1997), each of these coauthored with Matthias Felleisen, and The Reasoned Schemer (2005), coauthored with William E. Byrd and Oleg Kiselyov.

Matthias Felleisen is Trustee Professor of Computer Science at Northeastern University, recipient of the Karl V. Karlstrom Outstanding Educator Award, and co-author (with Daniel Friedman) of The Little Schemer and three other "Little" books published by the MIT Press. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 222 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall; 3 edition (March 30, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0023397632
• ISBN-13: 978-0023397639
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 0.4 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,271,063 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #47 in Books > Computers & Technology > Programming > Languages & Tools > Lisp

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars a bright clear gem February 5, 1998

By RattyDaddy

Format:Paperback

I read this beautiful little book as a child and it has never left me. It left me with a clear and straightforward understanding of the basics of LISP -- in this it remains possibly the most enjoyable and time-efficient technical book I've ever read, but much more than this it is a book I still often call to mind as an example of good pedagogy or simply of good design in any field.

28 of 35 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars It's a five-star book, but... December 23, 2001

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

...it's been obsoleted by its own fouth edition. No place on the listing for this book do I find a hint that this is the third edition of a book currently in its FOURTH edition. They renamed the book The Little Schemer for the fourth revision. Buy that book instead.

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars There is no better teaching book, anywhere. December 28, 2000

By dondo

Format:Paperback

The pinnacle of the act of teaching is to be simultaneously clear, simple, interesting, and complete. This is rarely achieved in person, and almost never in writing; "The Little LISPer" achieves it. I believe this defines what a teaching book can be. It is brief. It can be read in snippets, at any pace. It will maintain the interest of anyone who comes to learn. The reader is left ready to write Lisp code, no matter what background precedes it.

I read this book in high school in 1982; it taught me enough that five years later I aced a four-credit independent study class in Lisp (at an Ivy League college) without any further reading. Hey, I *told* him I already knew Lisp! Dr. Friedman, I hope you come across this endorsement some day; please accept my thanks for creating this wonderful little gem. (Pass the pizza, please, I have a little more to write...)

I cannot endorse this book highly enough. If you want to learn Lisp, I know of no better place to go.