Essentially, this is thirty or so authors’ takes on what makes code beautiful. The approaches vary widely, as does the writing. Some essays are full of code, others of theory, still others mix the two. There are a handful I’d not call beautiful. This is rough and slow reading, and a very long book.
Parts are over my head, of course; the book’s clearly intended that way. But parts are just wonderful, and make the book worthwhile. I’m guessing each reader will prefer different essays.
This short review was originally published on LibraryThing.