Book suggestions

Last updated: September 8, 2025

Note: I will keep this list updated. So make sure to bookmark this page or revisit it regularly.

What does it take to become a modern data engineer? Ironically, one of the oldest mediums we have for gaining knowledge: Books.

Obviously, not exclusively, but books play an integral role in the education of top-notch engineers. Why?

As you probably remember, I’m a big proponent of getting a deep understanding of the fundamentals instead of shallow knowledge of some tools.

Tools come and go, the fundamentals stay for years, decades, or even your entire career.

Before we dive into the list, let’s quickly talk about what the best book for modern data engineers is.

What is the best book for modern data engineers?

Some would maybe point to authors like Ralph Kimball, Bill Inmon, or Joe Reis and their all-time classics.

But that’s totally wrong. Not because these books are not great, but because it depends heavily on the existing knowledge of the reader.

A person with a very strong technical knowledge may benefit more from a book like Storytelling with Data than one of those data warehouse masterpieces.

So, in short: There’s no single best book.

You need to find what helps you the most.

Nevertheless, one thing I can recommend. Focus on the fundamentals instead of specific tools (or even certain versions of those).

A book called A quick guide on Databricks 16.4 will probably be outdated when you get your hands on it. It will also mainly touch the surface. Most likely, you’re better off reading the docs.

On the other hand, books like Database Internals give you deeper understanding of databases. Something every data engineer needs.

One last word of caution

I tried to categorize the books into the main topics of this publication The Expert Builder, The Data Innovator, The Force Multiplier (find out more in Start Here).

However, some books just fit multiple categories (e.g. The Pragmatic Programmer could be in The Expert Builder and in The Force Multiplier). I put all books into the category where I’ve seen the best fit. The order is arbitrary.