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Bitcoin for the Befuddled
Unless you've been living under a rock for the last couple of years, you've probably heard of Bitcoin—the game-changing digital currency used by millions worldwide. But Bitcoin isn't just another way to buy stuff. It's an anonymous, revolutionary, cryptographically secure currency that functions without the oversight of a central authority or government. If you want to get into the Bitcoin game but find yourself a little confused, Bitcoin for the Befuddled may be just what you're looking for. Learn what Bitcoin is; how it works; and how to acquire, store, and spend bitcoins safely and securely. You'll also With its non-technical language and patient, step-by-step approach to this fascinating currency, Bitcoin for the Befuddled is your ticket to getting started with Bitcoin. Get out from under the rock and get in the Bitcoin game. Just make sure not to lose your shirt.
249 pages, Paperback
First published July 25, 2014
44 people are currently reading
405 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
May 17, 2016
Great book! The author explains the bitcoin phenomenon with clarity. It is not a book that you can just breeze through though. It takes a little concentrated effort, but it is well worth it. You will emerge from this experience with an entirely new aquired knowledge that will serve you well. Especially if you want to get into the bitcoin game. Loved it! Highly recommended.
January 24, 2015
Don't be fooled by the cheesy cover! A very in-depth explanation of bitcoin. Some of the math was over my head but concepts were clear and engaging. I was fascinated by the cryptography behind bitcoin.
December 5, 2017
It was an interesting read to fill some of the gaps I had in understanding Bitcoin technology, and for that reason I would recommend it to tech savvy people or maybe only programmers.
And that is where the problem lies. The book positions itself as a sort of intro to the topic, and uses many analogies and even occasionally comic book format to make the understanding easier, however this falls short in my opinion. Some of the key concepts needed to understand (e.g. public/private keys) are poorly described, while other analogies are sort of work except when they are compared to reality the reader needs to flip them around requiring additional mental model, which defeats the purpose of the analogy. Therefore, I appreciate the idea behind the approach but would either prefer more careful descriptions of complex topics and not forced analogy (but then likely the book would not be for me) or more concise and perhaps deeper dive into the topic. Though, to be honest, I at this moment I don't have any burning question that the book has not answered (though I'm interested to look into alternative blockchain technologies and the source code it self).
Some of the things I learned:
- different types of wallets (e.g. full vs. simplified payment verification, the latter being less secure but not needing the whole blockchain; random key generation vs. deterministic key generation, the latter allowing you to generate new bitcoin addresses without having the private key - useful for point-of-sale systems)
- actual cryptographic algorithms and principles used under the hood (this part was more revealing)
- the exact structure of blockchain and headers of each block
- how the proof-of-work is done by the miners and related to that how the reward (new bitcoins) is awarded on top of the transaction fees (the latter being the only thing that will remain once all the bitcoins are mined) AND finally how is hashing power and difficulty related to that (something that's always present in any technical discussion, but that I never tried to properly understand before)
- I appreciated the discussion on both economical and technical concerns and threats
Overall, I'm more than ever convinced in the value of the technology. Is it worthy it's current price (11700$) - sure and probably much more than that. However, that doesn't mean it's not a bubble at the moment. There are likely still going to be hiccups on the way and price volatility (followed by panic and selloff), specially when less tech savvy people get into it and start making mistakes. If you're considering investing and don't plan to devote yourself full time to this (which is a very viable option as well) then you have to look at it as a long term investment - nothing else.
And that is where the problem lies. The book positions itself as a sort of intro to the topic, and uses many analogies and even occasionally comic book format to make the understanding easier, however this falls short in my opinion. Some of the key concepts needed to understand (e.g. public/private keys) are poorly described, while other analogies are sort of work except when they are compared to reality the reader needs to flip them around requiring additional mental model, which defeats the purpose of the analogy. Therefore, I appreciate the idea behind the approach but would either prefer more careful descriptions of complex topics and not forced analogy (but then likely the book would not be for me) or more concise and perhaps deeper dive into the topic. Though, to be honest, I at this moment I don't have any burning question that the book has not answered (though I'm interested to look into alternative blockchain technologies and the source code it self).
Some of the things I learned:
- different types of wallets (e.g. full vs. simplified payment verification, the latter being less secure but not needing the whole blockchain; random key generation vs. deterministic key generation, the latter allowing you to generate new bitcoin addresses without having the private key - useful for point-of-sale systems)
- actual cryptographic algorithms and principles used under the hood (this part was more revealing)
- the exact structure of blockchain and headers of each block
- how the proof-of-work is done by the miners and related to that how the reward (new bitcoins) is awarded on top of the transaction fees (the latter being the only thing that will remain once all the bitcoins are mined) AND finally how is hashing power and difficulty related to that (something that's always present in any technical discussion, but that I never tried to properly understand before)
- I appreciated the discussion on both economical and technical concerns and threats
Overall, I'm more than ever convinced in the value of the technology. Is it worthy it's current price (11700$) - sure and probably much more than that. However, that doesn't mean it's not a bubble at the moment. There are likely still going to be hiccups on the way and price volatility (followed by panic and selloff), specially when less tech savvy people get into it and start making mistakes. If you're considering investing and don't plan to devote yourself full time to this (which is a very viable option as well) then you have to look at it as a long term investment - nothing else.
March 23, 2021
Livro muito interessante sobre Bitcoin e Blockchain. Aborda de uma maneira geral todos os aspectos e particularidades do Bitcoin e da tecnologia subjacente, o "BlockChain", explicando todos o detalhes de maneira clara e com uma profundidade adequada para um principiante.
No entanto, dada a complexidade de certos aspectos mais técnicos, o livro poderá não ser tão acessível em certas secções a pessoas menos versadas em Informática, Criptografia, etc.
No entanto, dada a complexidade de certos aspectos mais técnicos, o livro poderá não ser tão acessível em certas secções a pessoas menos versadas em Informática, Criptografia, etc.
January 16, 2018
A pretty good book, I guess. The comics are poorly-drawn but help explain things.
October 7, 2018
A bit dated and too basic for my taste but still a good introduction to Bitcoin.
November 3, 2017
This is pretty much what the title promises: an introduction to Bitcoin for the novice who wants to know more. Barski covers the history of Bitcoin, what makes it different from dollars or Euros, how to get started, and more, even going so far as to provide instructions on how to automate certain Bitcoin operations with JavaScript.
Along the way, he provides a lot of detail about topics that the average person may not need, such as public-key and elliptical path cryptography, the Byzantine Generals problem, and more. To be honest, I skimmed a lot of these parts, but I mention them because:
This book also contains a fair amount of evangelizing. Barski's excited by Bitcoin, and wants us to be, too. But of course, this means alleviating the worries that any reasonable person might have about this strange new money-like thing that seems to be controlled by faceless Internet people rather than by a government. And he does this fairly well, largely by explaining the underlying issues and showing why they're not a problem.
I'm still left with a number of questions, including: Why are there only 21 million bitcoins? Why was this number chosen? There are many ways to lose money by accident; does that mean that the supply of bitcoins in circulation is shrinking, or can that money be recovered by miners? But on the whole, I know a lot more than when I started.
Along the way, he provides a lot of detail about topics that the average person may not need, such as public-key and elliptical path cryptography, the Byzantine Generals problem, and more. To be honest, I skimmed a lot of these parts, but I mention them because:
This book also contains a fair amount of evangelizing. Barski's excited by Bitcoin, and wants us to be, too. But of course, this means alleviating the worries that any reasonable person might have about this strange new money-like thing that seems to be controlled by faceless Internet people rather than by a government. And he does this fairly well, largely by explaining the underlying issues and showing why they're not a problem.
I'm still left with a number of questions, including: Why are there only 21 million bitcoins? Why was this number chosen? There are many ways to lose money by accident; does that mean that the supply of bitcoins in circulation is shrinking, or can that money be recovered by miners? But on the whole, I know a lot more than when I started.
January 20, 2021
This book is a bit of mixed feelings, from being simple, to being complicated, to being attractive for the way it explains to the reader, completes this book as an unique book that no other cryptocurrency-related books can do. This book explains cryptocurrency in a more technical way, with simple introduction chapters and it gets more harder to read as it slowly reaching the end, this book summarizes how cryptocurrency (mainly Bitcoin) works, ranging from the basic mechanism of cryptocurrency, to it's mathematical calculations in some chapters. I really enjoyed reading the book as its very educative for everyone, and I like the illustration of the book provided to illustrate the concept of bitcoin and the mechanism as a whole (bless you Crowley).
Overall, very good and unique book, however, you will be facing some technical side of the book where it explains in-depth on Bitcoin as a whole, so try to take it slow as you read it.
Overall, very good and unique book, however, you will be facing some technical side of the book where it explains in-depth on Bitcoin as a whole, so try to take it slow as you read it.
November 29, 2019
If you only read one book on bitcoin, you could do much worse than choosing this book as your one book. It has many details other books have glossed over, or left out entirely. It goes into detail about the important things to know about bitcoin, and how it can be used. It even has sample programs for those developers who might choose to learn more about bitcoin and other digital currencies. It takes a lot of the mystery out of bitcoin specifically, and digital currencies in general, and even offers links to other places to explore further if the reader is so inclined. Admittedly, it is old by digital currency standards, but most of it's links are still valid, and the majority of the information in the book is still relevant. I'd have no problem recommending this book to anyone wanting to learn more about digital currencies, how they work, and what they can do for you and others.
April 3, 2016
I very much enjoyed this book; this was the second book I've read on the topic and this one was infinitely better than the other (Bitcoin Exposed by Mark Forrester). This book answered by fundamental questions of what is bitcoin mining and why, it also explained mathematically why i'd have no chance of mining a block on my iMac in the days of custom ASICs. The bits on encryption and explain the how but also the why of cryptocurrency and a theoretical future that may or may not include bitcoin. The idea of the blockchain is brilliance of bitcoin and while this implementation may or may not survive the idea will most likely stick around. I'd definitely recommend to any finance or technical geeks...
April 9, 2017
Very enjoyable book and great introduction for beginners to bitcoin. It actually gives one of the best explanations of cryptography and the maths antics behind it that I've ever read, especially when it walks through Elliptical Curve Cryptography.
The book succinctly and clearly explains the technology behind Bitcoin, why certain decisions have been made and does s great job detailing how bitcoin is currently used and could be used in the future.
I would like to see more in-depth discussions on some aspects such as the history of bitcoin but then it's intended as an introduction :)
Highly recommended for those new to Bitcoin.
The book succinctly and clearly explains the technology behind Bitcoin, why certain decisions have been made and does s great job detailing how bitcoin is currently used and could be used in the future.
I would like to see more in-depth discussions on some aspects such as the history of bitcoin but then it's intended as an introduction :)
Highly recommended for those new to Bitcoin.
June 20, 2016
This is a rare gem among technology books, since it covers the topic from a layman's perspective (with comics!), but occasionally dives deeper into the technical details. Whether you have a passing interest in the topic, or you actually want to start using Bitcoins, you should find this to be well worth reading. Personally, the book didn't convince me that Bitcoins would be of any use to me, and to its credit it doesn't try that hard to sell that idea. However, the last chapter in particular convinced me that the underlying blockchain technology is going to be widely used in the future.
August 25, 2018
I was browsing the stacks and saw this funny looking book. I thought it had to be from at least 10 years ago, but it was written in 2015! I needed a simple reference to understand blockchain and it didn't have everything I need on distributed ledger technology because its focus is how to use and understand Bitcoin. I read the non-blockchain parts though and they were good. The occasional comic with Crowley the Crocodile is cute. I saved it to try the short JavaScript programs in the appendices. Who knows? Maybe I'll get a wallet too.
October 19, 2016
While I don’t expect to be buying Bitcoins and getting involved in that scene, the idea has intrigued me. This book was a great explainer of the ideas behind and technicalities of Bitcoin (though it helps if you’re already at least partially familiar with cryptography), and it helped me transition from someone with an uninformed reluctance to participate in the currency to someone with an informed reluctance. The cute cartoons didn't hurt at all, either.
November 15, 2016
Good info. Entertaining if outlandish examples. The problem is that it gets fairly dry and boring after a certain point and the majority of the info is impractical and not very useful outside of the world of cryptocurrency, which made finishing this a struggle. This is not so much a fault of the authors, but rather a problem with the subject matter. That being said, I did learn a good deal about Bitcoin and know more about its history and inner workings than I did before I picked this up.
June 11, 2016
This is a really good book. Very easy to understand for begginers and very useful to learn easier ways to talk about bitcoins for people that already know something about it. Some parts related to maths are very complex to understand, but those are not escential in order to understand the whole book ;)
August 16, 2018
Good introduction for bitcoin and cryptocurrency in general. I liked the short stories representing usage of cryptocurrencies and introduction to software running bitcoin and software development for bitcoin.
February 1, 2015
Clear, fun, thorough explanation of bitcoins and blockchain technology.
May 18, 2016
Great overview of Bitcoin, the technology, the promise and the practical use of it (includes code examples!)
February 7, 2017
Excellent rundown on Bitcoin - I'm going to be revisiting as there is no way to absorb all of it in one reading. Also, I love coding examples.
March 5, 2017
The book was written clearly and addressed many common bitcoin concerns. The scenarios and pictures were rather corny. There were typos throughout the book.
January 3, 2019
Great introduction into bitcoin and understanding the fundamentals behind it.
December 24, 2021
3.5
A good intro. Old and out of date, with some hilariously bad predictions. Goes deeper into depth on ec-crypto than I'd expect or hope for, but otherwise I'd recommend it for the tech-inclined layman to learn the ropes.
A good intro. Old and out of date, with some hilariously bad predictions. Goes deeper into depth on ec-crypto than I'd expect or hope for, but otherwise I'd recommend it for the tech-inclined layman to learn the ropes.
November 26, 2022
Beginner friendly book to understand the world of Bitcoin
Storyscaped the narration of complex explanations into simplified ones.
Wallets,
Cryptography,
Blockchain,
Mining,
Basic programming to connect to Bitcoin Network.
Storyscaped the narration of complex explanations into simplified ones.
Wallets,
Cryptography,
Blockchain,
Mining,
Basic programming to connect to Bitcoin Network.
January 2, 2025
Good book for introducing concepts of what make blockchain works without too much of technical details to readers who are from a non-CS background. Engaging read.
February 5, 2025
Ho conosciuto l’autore grazie Land of Lisp.
Ottimo come sempre per la chiarezza nell’esposizione dei contenuti.
Ottimo come sempre per la chiarezza nell’esposizione dei contenuti.
March 4, 2017
The first part of the book is about bitcoins, wallets, buying and selling, security and privacy from a user's point of view. The second part, which I speed-read, is about the blockchain, cryptography, mining, programming bitcoin apps, ... from a developer's point of view. The book contains a lot of information, too much to memorise after just one reading. Probably going to read it again later this year.
May 16, 2016
I recently got this book from a humble bundle sale for close to a dollar and I have to say it's one of the best purchases I've done this year. For the price of a dollar, I've learnt so much about bitcoins and the mathematics behind it. Granted I might not have understood the entirety of Elliptical Curve Cryptography or even how bitcoin mining works but I've walked away with a big appreciation and respect for the genius of "Satoshi", a supposed 37-year old man from Japan that came up with the Math and the operating system protocols that have made Bitcoin what it is today.
Arguably, this book was one of the most complex books I've read this year, despite it's deceptively simple cover. For those unaware of what this book is about, it provides a comprehensive summary of the mathematics behind bitcoins and the history behind the phenomenal rise of this new eCurrency.
Starting from the paper published by "Satoshi" which was passed around by academics before the system was implemented to the author's imagined utopia of 2030 that functions almost exclusively on bitcoins, Some of the math inside might be out of the reach of readers, especially when the hash and multi-hierarchical bitcoin wallets are concerned, or even at the very start when the modulo function is introduced ( Note It's MODULO not MODULUS, this is very important ).
Nonetheless, it provides a good read for both the technogeek and the new intiate looking to learn more about bitcoins in general. While the latter might not get all of it, the majority of the book is structured in such a way that it enables individuals with no prior knowledge of the math behind bitcoins or related information to get a rough idea of what it is about, and gain a rough idea of what this incredible technological innovation entails.
I decided to give it a rating of 5 out of 5 stars simply on the grounds of it being an incredible read that frankly speaking would be a great gift to anyone.
To read more reviews written by me on movies and books, visit leoreview.wordpress.com . Any support would be much appreciated!
Arguably, this book was one of the most complex books I've read this year, despite it's deceptively simple cover. For those unaware of what this book is about, it provides a comprehensive summary of the mathematics behind bitcoins and the history behind the phenomenal rise of this new eCurrency.
Starting from the paper published by "Satoshi" which was passed around by academics before the system was implemented to the author's imagined utopia of 2030 that functions almost exclusively on bitcoins, Some of the math inside might be out of the reach of readers, especially when the hash and multi-hierarchical bitcoin wallets are concerned, or even at the very start when the modulo function is introduced ( Note It's MODULO not MODULUS, this is very important ).
Nonetheless, it provides a good read for both the technogeek and the new intiate looking to learn more about bitcoins in general. While the latter might not get all of it, the majority of the book is structured in such a way that it enables individuals with no prior knowledge of the math behind bitcoins or related information to get a rough idea of what it is about, and gain a rough idea of what this incredible technological innovation entails.
I decided to give it a rating of 5 out of 5 stars simply on the grounds of it being an incredible read that frankly speaking would be a great gift to anyone.
To read more reviews written by me on movies and books, visit leoreview.wordpress.com . Any support would be much appreciated!
September 14, 2016
Bitcoin is an international digital currency known for its independence from a central bank or government. Already used by people and companies around the world, many forecast that Bitcoin could radically transform the global economy. The value of a bitcoin has soared from less than a dollar in 2011 to well over $1000 in 2013, with many spikes and crashes along the way. The rise in value has brought Bitcoin into the public eye, but the cryptocurrency still confuses many people. *Bitcoin for the Befuddled* covers everything you need to know about Bitcoin—what it is, how it works, and how to acquire, store, and use bitcoins safely and securely. You'll also learn about Bitcoin's history, its complex cryptography, and its potential impact on trade and commerce. The book includes a humorous, full-color comic explaining Bitcoin concepts, plus a glossary of terms for easy reference.
June 30, 2016
I guess the level of satisfaction you will get from this book, depends heavily from the level of experience you have with bitcoin. I don't think this book is targeted to people that are totally new to bitcoin, even though it might be advertised this way.
The reason why I am saying this is because some parts are not covered in enough detail, especially at the beginning of the book. In some cases (not so many though) some terms are left hanging without explanation, something that might hinder the complete novice from grasping the whole picture correctly. However, the level of detail and explanation is improving as you progress with the book and things might become more clear if you are willing to jump back to earlier chapters to review the unclear parts.
As a not totally new, neither super experienced user, I learned a lot from this book. It covers the cryptographic methods used in bitcoin in very good detail, which is something I really appreciated. On top of that, it goes through some 'unorthodox' ways of using bitcoin, its wallets, and payment schemes that I had never thought of.
So, if you are a total novice, expect a hard read ahead of you, but if you have some but not too much experience with the cryptocurrency, then definitely give it a go.
The reason why I am saying this is because some parts are not covered in enough detail, especially at the beginning of the book. In some cases (not so many though) some terms are left hanging without explanation, something that might hinder the complete novice from grasping the whole picture correctly. However, the level of detail and explanation is improving as you progress with the book and things might become more clear if you are willing to jump back to earlier chapters to review the unclear parts.
As a not totally new, neither super experienced user, I learned a lot from this book. It covers the cryptographic methods used in bitcoin in very good detail, which is something I really appreciated. On top of that, it goes through some 'unorthodox' ways of using bitcoin, its wallets, and payment schemes that I had never thought of.
So, if you are a total novice, expect a hard read ahead of you, but if you have some but not too much experience with the cryptocurrency, then definitely give it a go.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews