From acclaimed tech writer Clive Thompson, a brilliant and immersive study of one the most powerful tribes in the world today, computer programmers – where they come from, how they think, what makes for greatness in their world, and what should give us pause.

From revolution on Twitter to romance on Tinder, we live in a world constructed of code – and coders are the ones who built it for us.

In Coders, acclaimed tech writer Clive Thompson offers an illuminating reckoning with the most powerful tribe in the world today, computer programmers, asking who they are, how they think, and what should give us pause. Along the way, Thompson ponders the morality and politics of code, including its implications for civic life and the economy, and unpacks the surprising history of the field, beginning with the first coders – brilliant and pioneering women, who were later written out of history. To understand the world today, we need to understand code and its consequences. With Coders, Thompson offers a crucial insight into the heart of the machine.

‘By breaking down what the actual world of coding looks like . . . [Thompson] removes the mystery and brings it into the legible world for the rest of us to debate.’
New York Times

‘Masterful . . . [Thompson] illuminates both the fascinating coders and the bewildering technological forces that are transforming the world in which we live.’
David Grann, author of The Lost City of Z