Book Review — Grokking Algorithms by Aditya Bhargava

The word 'grokking' refers to 'understand (something) intuitively or by empathy' and it is the intuition part that this book attempts to impart via some really awesome illustrations.

First off - this is not a book for people who have completed Computer Science or have learnt algorithms. However it IS a wonderful book for beginners or as is mentioned on the cover 'for curious people'.

The chapter on dynamic programming alone makes this book highly worth reading.

Pros -

• Very easy to understand and grasp the underlying intuition
• Everyday relatable examples of the algorithm usage
• The high quality illustrations
• Written in a fun and engaging manner so easy to dive in and keep reading
• Chapters are independent, so can pick without needing to read in sequence

Cons -

• Minimal algorithms covered and in less depth
• Not a substitute for the more formal books in this area
• Will not help you master algorithms. This book is to start the journey into algorithms