ITPro’s five-book reading list for 2026 spans technology’s history, business, politics and future—not programming manuals or product guides. Published on December 31, 2025, the feature recommends books for readers interested in technology’s wider effects. It does not name an overall winner or present the titles as a ranked list. Read ITPro’s original recommendations.
How to choose among the five books
The shared subject is technology as a force that shapes companies, societies and governments. The best starting point depends on what you want to understand: AI’s business, technology hype, China’s telecom industry, early computing or social-media power.
| Book | Main subject | Best starting point for | Main caveat |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Long History of the Future by Nicole Kobie | Promises and realities of emerging technologies | Readers questioning technology hype | Broad perspective rather than implementation guidance |
| House of Huawei by Eva Dou | Huawei’s growth and its place in China and global politics | Readers interested in telecoms and geopolitics | Narrative history, not a technical or current-policy manual |
| The Computers That Made the World by Tim Danton | Foundational computers and early electronic computing | Readers seeking computing history | Focuses on an early period, not the full history of modern computing |
| Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams | Facebook’s corporate and policy culture, from an insider’s perspective | Readers interested in platform governance | A memoir with disputed claims, not an independently adjudicated corporate history |
| Empire of AI by Karen Hao | OpenAI, its leadership and the generative-AI industry | Readers seeking AI business context | Not a technical guide; fast-moving industry developments can overtake it |
The descriptions and subject coverage in the table reflect ITPro’s feature; the reader-fit and caveat columns are practical distinctions based on those descriptions.
For readers who want to challenge technology hype
The Long History of the Future — Nicole Kobie
Kobie examines the distance between technologies presented as imminent and what is actually built. ITPro says the book covers subjects including AI, robots, augmented reality, cyborgs, smart cities, Hyperloops, flying cars and driverless cars across nine chapters. Its appeal is the skeptical lens: why do some supposedly transformative futures keep receding?
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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesChoose it if you want a broad framework for assessing bold technology claims, including claims that may influence business decisions. It is not presented as a technical implementation guide, nor as a quantitative forecasting manual. Readers looking for engineering detail or investment analysis will need other sources.
For readers interested in China, telecoms and corporate growth
House of Huawei — Eva Dou
Dou’s account follows Huawei’s origins, founder Ren Zhengfei and the company’s rise into a global technology business. ITPro describes coverage of Shenzhen’s development, Meng Wanzhou’s role, the company’s early switch-reselling business and its move toward developing its own equipment with US-based manufacturers.
This is the choice for readers seeking context on telecoms, China’s technology sector and the geopolitical significance of a major company. Treat it as a narrative and historical account, not as a guide to Huawei network architecture or a current account of sanctions policy. Political influence, state ties and allegations about espionage are distinct questions; claims about them should be attributed and checked rather than collapsed into a single assertion.
For readers who want the foundations of modern computing
The Computers That Made the World — Tim Danton
Danton focuses on influential machines and projects from roughly the mid-1930s through the early 1960s. ITPro names the Atanasoff–Berry Computer, ENIAC, EDVAC, the IAS machine, Pilot ACE and Colossus among the topics, and connects computing advances with scientific problems and military needs.
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Rank #3
It is a useful starting point for understanding how research and wartime requirements helped shape early computing—and for adding historical perspective to today’s interest in hardware and AI. Its stated period is an important boundary: do not expect a comprehensive account of later software, networking, personal computers or the internet. Priority claims about early computers can also depend on definitions, so avoid reducing complex histories to an unqualified “first computer” claim.
For readers interested in social-media power and policy
Careless People — Sarah Wynn-Williams
Wynn-Williams, a former Facebook global-public-policy executive, offers an insider memoir about the company’s culture, political engagement and international activity. ITPro describes material concerning China and Myanmar, among other subjects. The book is the list’s most politically charged recommendation and is best suited to readers interested in platform governance, public policy and corporate power.
Rank #4
Read it as a first-person account, not as a neutral or independently adjudicated corporate history. ITPro reports that Meta disputed the book’s claims, describing them as outdated, previously reported or false. Distinguish what Wynn-Williams alleges from Meta’s response and from findings established by independent investigations or official proceedings; the recommendation itself does not verify every claim in the memoir.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.For readers who want the business story behind AI
Empire of AI — Karen Hao
Hao traces OpenAI’s rise and the people and institutions around the generative-AI boom. ITPro says the account follows Sam Altman from his early years through Y Combinator, his connection with Elon Musk and OpenAI’s creation, while also discussing figures including Dario Amodei, Peter Thiel, Bill Gates and Satya Nadella.
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Choose it for the business and power structures behind AI, rather than for an explanation of how ChatGPT or DALL-E works. It is not a machine-learning textbook, model-building guide or deployment manual. Because the subject is contemporary, the book’s account reflects developments up to its publication; company structures, products, partnerships, leadership and policy positions may have changed during 2026.
Which book should you start with?
- To understand AI companies and leadership: start with Empire of AI.
- To question predictions about future technology: choose The Long History of the Future.
- To explore Huawei and China’s telecom sector: choose House of Huawei.
- To learn about foundational computing: choose The Computers That Made the World.
- To examine platform politics through an insider memoir: choose Careless People, keeping its disputed claims in context.
For longer-lasting historical context, Danton’s and Kobie’s subjects are less dependent on the latest corporate developments. Hao’s and Wynn-Williams’s books address contemporary companies and events, so later developments may change how readers interpret their accounts. That is a difference in subject matter, not an ITPro ranking.
What the list does—and does not—recommend
These are technology-focused nonfiction books with different formats and purposes: history, corporate narrative, memoir and technology critique. None is presented as an IT manual. ITPro’s feature is an editorial recommendation, not an endorsement of every claim within each book, and its numbered list does not establish first-to-fifth quality rankings.
ITPro also discloses that it may earn affiliate commission when readers buy through links on its site. That commercial disclosure is useful context, but it does not by itself establish that a book is better suited to a particular reader. Current prices, editions and availability vary by format and market; the feature does not provide a verified current price comparison.
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