But if you stick with it, you will never look at a HashMap or an std::set the same way again. You will understand exactly why they sometimes slow down, and you will know which exotic data structure to use when milliseconds matter.
You are implementing a database index, a file system, or a memory allocator. You want to know the lower bounds of a problem, not just the solution.
I recently decided to hunt down a PDF of this text to see if it lived up to the cult hype. Spoiler: It does, but not for the reasons you might expect.
9/10 (Deducted 1 point for the brutal exercise sets that have no solutions available online).
Here is my review and analysis of why this book is the unsung hero of practical data structure theory. First, a warning. This is not a beginner’s guide. If you are just learning what a linked list is, stay far away from Brass.