The Little Schemer

drawings by Duane Bibbyforeword by Gerald J. SussmanThe notion that "thinking about
computing is one of the most exciting things the human mind can do" sets both The Little Schemer
(formerly known as The Little LISPer) and its new companion volume, The Seasoned Schemer, apart from
other books on LISP. The authors' enthusiasm for their subject is compelling as they present
abstract concepts in a humorous and easy-to-grasp fashion. Together, these books will open new doors
of thought to anyone who wants to find out what computing is really about. The Little Schemer
introduces computing as an extension of arithmetic and algebra ;things that everyone studies in
grade school and high school. It introduces programs as recursive functions and briefly discusses
the limits of what computers can do. The authors use the programming language Scheme, and
interesting foods to illustrate these abstract ideas. The Seasoned Schemer informs the reader about
additional dimensions of computing: functions as values, change of state, and exceptional cases. The
Little LISPer has been a popular introduction to LISP for many years. It had appeared in French and
Japanese. The Little Schemer and The SeasonedSchemer are worthy successors and will prove equally
popular as textbooks for Scheme courses as well as companion texts for any complete introductory
course in Computer Science.