Mastering Bitcoin: Unlocking Digital Cryptocurrencies

I read Cryptocurrency by Paul Vigna and Michael Casey and I loved it. I was so mesmerized that I immediately sat down and wrote an eight page stream-of-consciousness account of what it left me thinking Bitcoin was. And in doing so I realized that I did not have a full grasp of the detail. Worse still, I also realized that when it comes to cryptocurrency the devil truly is in the detail.

My friends all said “buy some and you’ll soon understand better”

I’m a loser, so I read another book instead. This book.

I am beyond satisfied with my choice. Immensely satisfied. I say I loved Vigna and Casey’s book, but I liked Mastering Bitcoin more. It went through all the little nagging issues I had and one by one gave me the answers. And it gave answers to questions that had never occurred to me but in retrospect are very relevant.

So if you were wondering
• where exactly the public key is used
• what the difference is between the public key and the wallet address
• why a transaction hash is double the size of a bitcoin hash
• what exact puzzle the proof of work solves
• who awards Bitcoin to the successful miner
• what a 51% attack is
this book not only supplies the necessary computer code (and I could not possibly comment on whether it’s correct or not, I can’t code to save my life) but also fully motivates the reader to understand. And it takes you to places you’ve never been before, from Elliptic Curves all the way to Alt Coins.

Much as I don’t think it would cut it as a first introduction, I can’t recommend this book enough. Now I feel ready to go get my hands on some Bitcoin