Livro de auto-ajuda?

Nevertheless, this algorithm is slower, more complicated, more expensive, and less robust than the original centralized one. Why bother studying it under these conditions? (...) Finally, like eating spinach and learning Latin in high school, some things are said to be good for you in some abstract way.

Andrew Tanenbaum, Distributed Operating Systems. Às vezes o rapaz viaja um pouco no meio das explicações =D