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John Carmack

Software engineer and id Software co-founder

A software engineer and id Software co-founder associated with the technology behind Doom and Quake, and a former Oculus CTO. His original posts distinguish a recommendation from technical reading context.

Software Technology

1Book recommended

1Book mentioned

Books John Carmack recommends

1 book, each linked to the source where John Carmack recommended it.

The Little Book of Deep Learning

by François Fleuret · 2023

Carmack praises this short book as a useful bridge from a vague understanding of neural networks to technical practice.

Recommended · Wording not verified Source: John Carmack

Evidence details

John Carmack on The Little Book of Deep Learning

Favorable reader-facing technical guidance in his own public post. The current author-hosted update is not asserted as his endorsed edition.

This text documents what the source says, but it is not verified as a word-for-word quote.

John Carmack · 2023-12-13 · accessed 2026-10-01

Social post · Own public reading recommendation

Carmack’s post links to the author’s free-book page: https://fleuret.org/francois/lbdl.html. The author warns about unauthorized commercial copies. Later updates are not asserted as Carmack’s endorsed edition.

Also mentioned

John Carmack mentioned or cited these books. They are not counted as direct recommendations.

The Book of CP-System

by Fabien Sanglard · 2022

Carmack describes learning about arcade star-field hardware from Sanglard’s book.

Mentioned · Wording not verified Source: John Carmack

Evidence details

John Carmack on The Book of CP-System

Mentioned technical reading context, not an instruction to readers or a recommendation.

This text documents what the source says, but it is not verified as a word-for-word quote.

John Carmack · 2022-12-02 · accessed 2026-10-01

Social post · Own public technical reading mention

Carmack describes learning a technical detail from this book. This reading mention is kept separate from recommendations.