My shortlist of recommended books for folks interested in computer history, programming, and game design.

Bookshelf

The Book of Shaders

A gentle step-by-step guide through the abstract and complex universe of Fragment Shaders.

Digital Graphics

Mathematics

Game Development

Bookshelf

Emergence

An in-depth tour of how the sum (e.g. an ant colony) is greater than its parts (e.g. an ant).

Abstraction

Emergent Behavior

Cellular Automata

Bookshelf

Empire of the Sum

A geek-worthy history of the development of calculating machines.

Computer History

Mathematics

Bookshelf

The Making of Karateka

Jordan Mechner puts you right back there in the early 80s when home computing was just getting its legs.

Computer History

Game Design