The most recommended data processing books

Who picked these books? Meet our 31 experts.

31 authors created a book list connected to data processing, and here are their favorite data processing books.
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Book cover of Kafka: The Definitive Guide: Real-Time Data and Stream Processing at Scale

Tomasz Lelek Author Of Software Mistakes and Tradeoffs: How to make good programming decisions

From my list on big data processing ecosystem.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am motivated by working on products that many people use. I've been a part of companies that deliver products impacting millions of people. To achieve it, I am working in the Big Data ecosystem and striving to simplify it by contributing to Dremio's Data LakeHouse solution. I worked on projects using Spark, HDFS, Cassandra, and Kafka technologies. I have been working in the software engineering industry for ten years now, and I've tried to share my experience and lessons learned in the Software Mistakes and Tradeoffs book, hoping that it will allow current and the next generation of engineers to create better software, leading to more happy users.

Tomasz's book list on big data processing ecosystem

Tomasz Lelek Why did Tomasz love this book?

Apache Kafka is the backbone of almost every streaming-based system today.

The solutions created and implemented in Kafka are the key concepts in every streaming system that you will work with.

This book will allow you to fully understand the Kafka architecture, its internals, and APIs and allow you to become an expert in this technology.

By Neha Narkhede, Gwen Shapira, Todd Palino

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Kafka as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Every enterprise application creates data, whether it's log messages, metrics, user activity, outgoing messages, or something else. And how to move all of this data becomes nearly as important as the data itself. If you're an application architect, developer, or production engineer new to Apache Kafka, this practical guide shows you how to use this open source streaming platform to handle real-time data feeds.

Engineers from Confluent and LinkedIn who are responsible for developing Kafka explain how to deploy production Kafka clusters, write reliable event-driven microservices, and build scalable stream-processing applications with this platform. Through detailed examples, you'll learn Kafka's…


Book cover of Predict and Surveil: Data, Discretion, and the Future of Policing

Luke Hunt Author Of Police Deception and Dishonesty: The Logic of Lying

From my list on the cluster-f*ck we call policing.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m an Associate Professor in the University of Alabama’s Department of Philosophy. I worked as an FBI Special Agent before making the natural transition to academic philosophy. Being a professor was always a close second to Quantico, but that scene in Point Break in which Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze fight Anthony Kiedis on the beach made it seem like the FBI would be more fun than academia. In my current position as a professor at the University of Alabama, I teach in my department’s Jurisprudence Specialization. My primary research interests are at the intersection of philosophy of law, political philosophy, and criminal justice. I’ve written three books on policing.

Luke's book list on the cluster-f*ck we call policing

Luke Hunt Why did Luke love this book?

I love this book because it reminds us of the many ways that technology can affect justice.

It is tempting to think sophisticated tactics such as “predictive policing” can solve all problems relating to human bias. However, Brayne shows that data and algorithms do not eliminate bias and discretion. Instead, high-tech police tools simply make bias less overt and visible, which erodes the public’s ability to hold the police accountable.

I especially enjoyed how the book flips the script, considering diverse ways to use these tools to help the public. For example, how can municipalities use technology to analyze the underlying factors that contribute to policing problems in the first place?

By Sarah Brayne,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Predict and Surveil as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The scope of criminal justice surveillance, from the police to the prisons, has expanded rapidly in recent decades. At the same time, the use of big data has spread across a range of fields, including finance, politics, health, and marketing. While law enforcement's use of big data is hotly contested, very little is known about how the police actually use it in daily operations and with what consequences.

In Predict and Surveil, Sarah Brayne offers an unprecedented, inside look at how police use big data and new surveillance technologies, leveraging on-the-ground fieldwork with one of the most technologically advanced law…


Book cover of Privacy Is Power: Why and How You Should Take Back Control of Your Data

Susie Alegre Author Of Freedom to Think: Protecting a Fundamental Human Right in the Digital Age

From my list on how technology affects your human rights.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve always been passionate about social justice as a writer and as an international human rights lawyer. I had worked on human rights, surveillance, and privacy for decades around the world, but it was when I first read about Cambridge Analytica back in 2017 that it felt personal – privacy is the gateway to our right to freedom of thought and opinion and Big Tech is increasingly acting as the gatekeeper to all our human rights. These books have all helped me to understand what the risks are and how to tackle them.

Susie's book list on how technology affects your human rights

Susie Alegre Why did Susie love this book?

Privacy Is Power gets to the heart of why we should all be worried about encroachments on our privacy. 

Carissa Veliz is a philosopher and a talented writer who brings complex and profound ideas to life on the page. Some writing about technology can feel dry and detached, but Veliz makes you understand viscerally how the impact of technology is a human, not a technological issue. 

By Carissa Veliz,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Privacy Is Power as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

An Economist BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

As the data economy grows in power, Carissa Veliz exposes how our privacy is eroded by big tech and governments, why that matters and what we can do about it.

The moment you check your phone in the morning you are giving away your data. Before you've even switched off your alarm, a whole host of organisations have been alerted to when you woke up, where you slept, and with whom. As you check the weather, scroll through your 'suggested friends' on Facebook, you continually compromise your privacy.

Without your permission, or even…