What order should I read Donald Knuth's books in?

Publication order is a safe choice; the full list is above. Most readers start with The Art of Computer Programming: Volume 3.

What is Donald Knuth's most famous book?

The Art of Computer Programming: Volume 3 (1968) is Donald Knuth's most widely read book.

Donald Knuth books in order

American computer scientist and mathematician

Born: 1938
Country: United States
Books: 30

Donald Knuth has published 2 novels, 1 novella, 6 non-fiction books and 21 other books, beginning with The Art of Computer Programming: Volume 3 (1968). The latest is Éléments Pour Une Histoire De L’informatique (2011).

Updated September 2026

Where to start with Donald Knuth

Start here
The Art of Computer Programming: Volume 3
Donald Knuth's most-read book.
Newest
Éléments Pour Une Histoire De L’informatique
Published 2011.

Standalone novels in order

The TeXbook (Nov 1984)
483 pages
Buy
Éléments Pour Une Histoire De L’informatique (2011)
Buy

Novellas in order

Surreal Numbers (1974)
119 pages
Buy

Non-fiction in order

Concrete Mathematics (1989)
657 pages★ 4.8 (5 ratings)
Buy
3:16 (1991)
268 pages
Buy
Selected Papers on Computer Science (1996)
279 pages
Buy
Things a Computer Scientist Rarely Talks About (2001)
263 pages
Buy
Selected Papers on Discrete Mathematics (2002)
606 pages
Buy
Selected Papers on Fun and Games (2010)
741 pages
Buy

Other books in order

The Art of Computer Programming: Volume 3 (1968)
653 pages★ 4.6 (7 ratings)
Buy
THE ART of COMPUTER PROGRAMMING VOLUME 2 SEMINUMERICAL ALGORITHMS (1969)
640 pages
Buy
Mix (1970)
48 pages
Buy
Sorting and Searching (1973)
722 pages
Buy
The Art of Computer Programming, Volume 2 (1981)
704 pages
Buy
Tex (1985)
600 pages
Buy
Computer Modern Typefaces (1986)
588 pages
Buy
Computers & Typesetting, Volume A (1986)
496 pages
Buy
Metafont (1986)
566 pages
Buy
Mathematical Writing (1988)
115 pages
Buy
3:16 Bible Texts Illuminated (1991)
268 pages
Buy
Literate Programming (1992)
368 pages
Buy
The METAFONTbook (1992)
361 pages
Buy
Art of Computer Programming (1998)
790 pages
Buy
Digital Typography (1999)
685 pages
Buy
Selected Papers on the Analysis of Algorithms (2000)
540 pages
Buy
Selected Papers on Computer Languages (2002)
610 pages
Buy
Art of Computer Programming, Volume 4, Fascicle 4,The (2006)
128 pages
Buy
The Art of Computer Programming, Volume 4, Fascicle 6 (2015)
320 pages
Buy
Art of Computer Programming, Volume 4, Fascicle 5 (2019)
Buy
Art of Computer Programming, Volume 4B (2022)
Buy

About Donald Knuth

Donald Ervin Knuth is an American computer scientist and mathematician. He is a professor emeritus at Stanford University. He is the 1974 recipient of the ACM Turing Award, informally considered the Nobel Prize of computer science. Knuth has been called the "father of the analysis of algorithms".

Biography from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.

Donald Knuth FAQ

How many books has Donald Knuth written?: Donald Knuth has published 2 novels, 1 novella, 6 non-fiction books and 21 other books that we list, as of September 2026.
What order should I read Donald Knuth's books in?: Publication order is a safe choice; the full list is above. Most readers start with The Art of Computer Programming: Volume 3.
What is Donald Knuth's latest book?: Éléments Pour Une Histoire De L’informatique (2011).
What is Donald Knuth's most famous book?: The Art of Computer Programming: Volume 3 (1968) is Donald Knuth's most widely read book.

Sources: book lists and dates from Wikidata and Open Library, ratings from Open Library readers. Last updated September 2026.