2025-09-25: Keeping these paragraphs from a coolnamehere page about Lisp, because I’m perversely proud to note that I’ve been tired of his hacker ubermensch shtick since at least 2004.
Paul Graham is a high-profile proponent of LISP. He seems to think that his early success in developing online applications was due to the power and flexibility of LISP and his theory that independent-minded hackers are innately destined for greater things than the mundane cattle that walk the earth. I’m not going to argue with him, since I’m not a master of LISP, business management, or socio-economic theory. I do wish he’d find something more interesting to talk about than hackers, though.
Sorry, I digressed. As I was saying: Paul Graham is a high-profile proponent of LISP. His book ANSI Common LISP is on the bookshelf of nearly every would-be LISP hacker, and for good reason. His book is concise and informative. It continues to be useful after finishing the tutorial section, thanks to a convenient reference section in the back. You’ll probably get some respect from your fellow nerds if you have any of Paul Graham’s LISP titles on your shelf. That includes those who get bored and annoyed while reading his essays discussing how the ancient Egyptians who designed the pyramids were actually hackers who utilized the existing labor system in previously unimagined ways. Note: I don’t think he’s actually written that essay yet.