Common Lisp: A Tutorial

Rating:
Summary: Cheap, readable reference
Review: As you'd expect from the title it's a pretty direct walkthrough of CL, however it is based on Guy Steele's first, 1984 standard and so predates the CLOS. It is introductory level - it has plenty of diagrams and takes the time to explain and give examples for each feature, but it is language- rather than idea-driven, though it was intended for people new to Lisp as well as those just wanting to get updated. The examples are small-scale and it does not give much guidance on design or efficiency, however its layout lets it serve well as a reference. Being older it isn't complete wrt the Hyperspec (the current CL definition, online) - but eg it lacked only 1 keyword, :print-object out of 10 for defstruct, so it seems to be decently comprehensive, and is easier to read and find your way around in.

With this book you're getting the language wrapped in explanation and examples but, not much beyond the basics. What I like about it is that it serves as a clear and cheap (< $20 as of this writing) reference. The one unfortunate lack is the CLOS.