CTCI is the bible of coding interview prep. Gayle McDowell, a former Google/Microsoft/Apple interviewer, breaks down 189 problems across arrays, linked lists, trees, graphs, recursion, dynamic programming, sorting, bit manipulation, and more.
But it's not just a problem set. The first section covers the entire interview process: how tech companies evaluate candidates, how to structure your resume, behavioral questions, Big O analysis, and strategies for solving problems you've never seen before.
Each problem includes a detailed walkthrough of the thought process, not just the final solution. The hints system lets you try problems yourself before seeing the answer.
My Review
Still the gold standard for coding interview prep after all these years. The problem selection is excellent — they're representative of what you'll actually face, not obscure competitive programming puzzles.
The Big O chapter alone is worth buying the book for. McDowell explains time and space complexity more clearly than any CS textbook I've read.
Who should read it: Anyone interviewing at tech companies, from new grads to experienced developers switching jobs.
Skip if: You've already done 200+ LeetCode problems and have your own system. At that point, you'd get more value from mock interviews.
Book Details
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Author | Gayle Laakmann McDowell |
| Pages | 687 |
| Year | 2015 |
| Category | Interview Prep |
Get Cracking the Coding Interview on Amazon
Top comments (0)