We want input on which Bitcoin development books you would like to read and discuss together in 2022. We’ve put together a list of potential books for BitDevs and BitPlebs meetups. Some of the books are geared towards developers, while others focus on economic aspects of Bitcoin
Note that several books on this list have been covered at past meetups, however, we have many newer attendees who may not have read these books yet.
Technical books for the devs
Mastering Bitcoin
This is a must-read book for learning about the Bitcoin protocol. It covers the structure of blocks, the structure of transactions, how to compile Bitcoin Core, some of the cryptographic primitives employed in Bitcoin, and more.
Programming Bitcoin
This book teaches you how to program your own Bitcoin library in Python. The idea is that you will understand how Bitcoin works very deeply if you task yourself with coding your own implementation.
Mastering the Lightning Network
This is a must-read book for learning about the Lightning network protocol, which a layer 2 protocol which allows for nearly instant Bitcoin payments.
The Blocksize War
This is an account of the Blocksize War, which is basically the debate from 2015 – 2017 over increasing Bitcoin’s blocksize. This is a fairly easy book to read and will help you to understand the design decisions that were made in developing the Bitcoin protocol.
Working in Public
This book is not about Bitcoin specifically. Rather, it’s about free open-source software (FOSS), how it is maintained, and the communities that form around the software. It’s a relevant topic because the maintenance of FOSS is critical to Bitcoin.
Bitcoin books that are non-technical
The Bitcoin Standard
A book about the history of money and impact that it has on society. Published in 2018 and still the definitive work on why Bitcoin is the best money.
The Fiat Standard
The recently published (November 2021) sequel to The Bitcoin Standard, this book explores the impact that sovereign issued fiat money has had on the economy within the past century and how it has contributed to a society based upon debt slavery.
The Bullish Case for Bitcoin
A quicker read than the above two works, this recently published book was based upon the author’s famous Medium article. It speaks to why an investor should consider holding Bitcoin and can anticipate it to continue to increase in value.
21 Lessons
What I’ve Learned by Falling Down the Bitcoin Rabbit Hole By Gigi. A profound book about how understanding Bitcoin can change a person for the better. A very quick read. This can probably be covered in 1-2 discussion sessions.
The Sovereign Individual
A book about the future as seen from 1999. The authors correctly predict a surprising and fascinating number of developments revolving around decentralization and microprocessors, including the rise of a non-state money like Bitcoin.