C# is a rich language with many books devoted to explaining its finer points. This can make it tricky to find a good book on C# whether you're learning it for the first time or trying to improve your knowledge of a specific area. In this guide, we've highlighted the best of the C# 'classics' that we've reviewed on I Programmer, with a special focus on those that have been written or updated to cover the latest C# 9.

I Programmer covers hundreds of programming titles per year, good and bad, to make it easier for you to find the right ones. Programmer's Bookshelf aim to highlight the best.

If you want to read more of the original review click in the link in each title. The thumbnails of the book jacket in the side panel provide links to the Amazon website.

If you just want to view the book's product details (without making a purchase) click in the top portion of the thumbnail to open the book's product details page. If you do decide to buy a book via Amazon, accessing it from a link on I Programmer means that we are credited with a few cents - so thanks to all of you who support us in this way.

C# in Depth

Author: Jon Skeet
Publisher: Manning
Pages:528
ISBN: 978-1617294532

This is a title aimed at intermediate-level C# developers, and is now on its fourth edition. In his review of the second edition, which covers C# 4.0, Nikos Vaggalis commented:

The author's excitement really shines through the book, making it lively and animated.

Sue Gee agreed with the rating in her review of the 3rd Edition, also awarding it a 5-star rating.

Rather than being a run-of-the-mill introduction to a single version of the language, this book looks at its evolution and pointing out the important properties that give the language character such as delegates, generics, lambda expressions, extension methods and more.

Deep C#: Dive Into Modern C#

Author: Mike James
Publisher: I/O Press
Pages: 368
ISBN: 978-871962710

In this book I Programmer's Mike James, who has programmed in C# since its launch in 2000, provides a “deep dive” into various topics that are important or central to the language at a level that will suit the majority of C# programmers. 

The book’s introductory chapter looks at the development of C# over two decades to achieve the status of a modern, general-purpose, cross-platform language that still has an edge when it comes to Windows programming. After this the book is split into six sections, each covering specific aspects:  

• Strong Typing & Type Safety 
• Casting & Generics
• Functions
• Async
• Data - LINQ, XML, Regular Expressions
• Unsafe & Interop  

The problem with any long-lived language is that it is difficult to look at it with fresh eyes. This book should help you discard any old bad habits you might have and gain a new enthusiasm for C# in its latest, modern incarnation. Not everything will be new to any given reader, but by exploring the motivation behind key concepts, which is so often ignored in the documentation, the intention is to be thought-provoking and to give developers confidence to exploit C#’s wide range of features. 

Essential C# 8.0, 7th Ed

Author: Mark Michaelis
Publisher: Addison-Wesley
Pages: 1088
ISBN: 978-0135972267

The latest edition of this well-established title covers C# 8. Giving it a rating of 4.5,  Mike James said

"If you want to the core of C# explained then this is still a good choice"

and gave it a 4.5-star rating.

Mike's conclusion is that this is a well-regarded book that is more than just a reference work. Recommended if you want a C# language guide that you intend to dip into rather than read cover to cover.

<ASIN:1617294535>

<ASIN:1871962714>

<ASIN: B09FTLPTP9>

<ASIN:0135972264>