A curated list of excellent books to learn PostgreSQL — from beginner‑friendly introductions to advanced internals, administration, and performance tuning.
Based on the official PostgreSQL Books page and community recommendations.
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Decode PostgreSQL: Understanding the World’s Most Powerful Open Source Database Without Writing Code
Ellyne Phneah (2025)
A high‑level, beginner‑friendly overview of PostgreSQL without requiring SQL expertise. -
PostgreSQL Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Jimmy Angelakos (2025)
Practical guidance on avoiding common PostgreSQL pitfalls. -
Introduction to PostgreSQL for the Data Professional
Ryan Booz & Grant Fritchey (2025)
PostgreSQL focused on analytics, reporting, and data workflows. -
Mastering PostgreSQL 17
Hans‑Jürgen Schönig (2024)
In‑depth coverage of PostgreSQL 17 features, internals, and performance. -
Learn PostgreSQL – Second Edition
Luca Ferrari & Enrico Pirozzi (2023)
A comprehensive introduction to PostgreSQL fundamentals.
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PostgreSQL 16 Administration Cookbook
Gianni Ciolli, Boriss Mejías, Jimmy Angelakos, Vibhor Kumar & Simon Riggs (2023)
Task‑oriented recipes for managing PostgreSQL 16 in production. -
High Performance PostgreSQL for Rails
Andrew Atkinson (2024)
Performance tuning PostgreSQL‑backed Ruby on Rails applications.
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PostgreSQL 14 Internals
Egor Rogov (2023)
Deep dive into PostgreSQL internals, storage, and execution engine. -
POSTGRES: The First Experience
Pavel Luzanov, Egor Rogov & Igor Levshin (2023)
Conceptual foundations and design philosophy of PostgreSQL. -
PostgreSQL for Jobseekers
Sonia Valeja & David Gonzalez (2023)
Career‑oriented guidance for PostgreSQL professionals. -
PostgreSQL – Architecture et notions avancées (French)
Guillaume Lelarge & Julien Rouhaud (2023)
Advanced PostgreSQL architecture and internals (French language).
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PostgreSQL: Up and Running
Regina Obe & Leo Hsu
A practical introduction to PostgreSQL usage and administration. -
Practical PostgreSQL
Joshua Drake & John Worsley
A classic hands‑on PostgreSQL guide.
- The Art of PostgreSQL
Dimitri Fontaine
SQL‑centric application design and performance best practices.
- Prefer book editions matching your PostgreSQL version.
- PostgreSQL evolves quickly — newer editions matter.
- Official documentation remains the ultimate reference; books add context and real‑world experience.
Contributions are welcome!
- Add new books
- Update links or editions
- Improve descriptions
- Organize by PostgreSQL version
Feel free to open a pull request or issue.
Happy reading & happy querying 🐘