9 Best REST API Books in 2023

This is a list of the best REST API books in 2023.

REST APIs are the backbone of the modern web.

They allow different services to communicate with each other and exchange data.

REST APIs are based on the REpresentational State Transfer (REST) architectural style.

If you want to learn how to build REST APIs, these are some of the best books on the subject. They can help you with best practices and also prepare you for REST API interview questions.

Best REST API books in 2023 are:

1. Designing Web APIs : Building APIs That Developers Love

Designing Web APIs is a comprehensive guide that provides you with the knowledge you need to make sound decisions when designing and building web APIs.

The authors explore request-response and event-driven API design paradigms, and explain how to use a template to create an API design process.

They also provide best practices for designing an API that meets the needs of your users, as well as advice for scaling your web API to support a growing number of API calls and use cases.

You’ll also learn how to regularly adapt the API to reflect changes to your product or business.

In addition, the book includes expert advice, worksheets, checklists, and case studies from companies that have successfully built thriving developer ecosystems around their APIs.

Authors: Brenda Jin, Saurabh Sahni, Amir Shevat

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You will learn how to:

Understand the basics of API design
Learn about data modeling
Understand the key concepts of resourceful design
Learn how to version your API
Understand how to evolve an API over time
Get an overview of request-response and event-driven API design paradigms
Learn best practices for designing an API that meets the needs of your users
Use a template to create an API design process
Scale your web API to support a growing number of API calls and use cases
Regularly adapt the API to reflect changes to your product or business
Provide developer resources that include API documentation, samples, and tools

2. Designing Data-Intensive Applications : The Big Ideas Behind Reliable, Scalable, and Maintainable Systems

2. Designing Data-Intensive Applications Book Cover

Designing Data-Intensive Applications is a comprehensive guide to designing modern data-driven applications.

If you’re a software engineer or architect who wants to learn how to apply fundamental data principles to the design of modern applications, this book is for you.

Author Martin Kleppmann helps you navigate this diverse landscape by examining the pros and cons of various technologies for processing and storing data.

You'll learn how to make informed decisions by identifying the strengths and weaknesses of different tools, and understand the trade-offs around consistency, scalability, fault tolerance, and complexity. Peek behind the scenes of major online services, and learn from their architectures.

Even though the book is not REST API specific, it's a great system designs book. You will learn how to apply the principles of data-intensive design to REST APIs.

Authors: Martin Kleppmann

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You will learn how to:

Learn the basics of data modeling
Understand the trade-offs around consistency, scalability, fault tolerance, and complexity
Get to know common distributed systems research principles
Understand how modern databases are built

3. API Security in Action

Best Book for REST API Security

API Security in Action is a hands-on guide that teaches you how to create secure APIs for any use case.

You will build a social network API while mastering techniques such as authentication, authorization, audit logging, rate limiting, and encryption.

By the end of the book, you will be able to create APIs that stand up to complex threat models and hostile environments.

APIs control data sharing in every service, server, data store, and web client. Modern data-centric designs—including microservices and cloud-native applications—demand a comprehensive, multi-layered approach to security for both private and public-facing APIs. So if you are building REST APIs, API Security in Action is a must-ready!

Authors: Neil Madden

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You will learn how to:

Learn the basics of API security
Understand authentication and authorization mechanisms
Discover different methods for securing APIs
Gain experience with implementing API security in a microservices architecture
Secure IoT communications and APIs

Neil Madden: About the author

Neil Madden is a computer scientist with a Ph.D. in cryptography. He is an expert in API security and has applied this knowledge to create secure applications and systems. In this book, he provides an overview of the REST API security landscape. He covers topics such as authentication, authorization, and data protection.

4. API Design Patterns

API Design Patterns is a collection of best practices and design standards for web and internal APIs.

With API Design Patterns, you’ll learn how to design APIs that are both robust and user-friendly.

This book covers the basics of API design, including best practices for data types, versioning, and authentication.

You’ll also discover advanced patterns for handling tricky scenarios, such as pagination, filtering, and batch operations. Whether you’re building an internal API for your company or a public-facing API for your productn

These design patterns can be applied to solve common API problems and flexibly altered to fit your specific needs. It's packed with hands-on examples and relevant use-cases patterns for API fundamentals, advanced functionality, and even uncommon scenarios.

Authors: JJ Geewax

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Topics covered

You will learn how to:

Understand the basics of API design
Learn how to create a stable, user-friendly API
Discover best practices for handling data types
Explore patterns for authentication and validation
Gain knowledge of advanced API usage scenarios

JJ Geewax: About the author

JJ Geewax is a software engineer at Google, focusing on Google Cloud Platform, API design, and real-time payment systems. He is also the author of Manning’s Google Cloud Platform in Action.

5. Build APIs You Won't Hate : Everyone and Their Dog Wants an API, So You Should Probably Learn how to Build Them

Build APIs You Won't Hate give helpful advice on API development.

Through years of trial and error, author Phil has developed best practices and good advice to make the job of developing APIs easier.

This book looks at the theory behind building an API in any language or framework with practical examples using PHP. It also explores common pitfalls when dealing with changes in business logic, database schemas, new features or deprecated endpoints and how to avoid them.

Authors: Laura Bohill, Phil Sturgeon

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Topics covered

You will learn how to:

Understand the theory of designing and building APIs in any language or framework
Understand best practices for API development
Use real-world examples and explanations to hit the ground running with API development
Develop an understanding of how to overcome, avoid, or avert horror stories related to API development
Be able to apply learning objectives in PHP based examples.
Make informed decisions about the most suitable methods for successful API development.
Develop the skills required to create robust, secure, and performant APIs.

6. Undisturbed REST : A Guide to Designing the Perfect API

Undisturbed REST takes a design-first approach to API development, teaching you how to create an API that is not only robust and scalable but also meets the needs of your developers.

Using modern techniques and technology, the book shows you how to build an API that will withstand the test of time.

You'll learn about best practices and available tooling for designing, prototyping, sharing, documenting, and generating SDKs around your API.

With Undisturbed REST, you'll have the knowledge and tools you need to create a successful API.

If you're looking to get started with API design, or want to learn more about how to create an API that will last, then this is the book for you.

Authors: Michael Stowe

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Topics covered

You will learn how to:

Learn best practices for API design
Understand the importance of longevity in API design
Learn about different design techniques and technologies
Gain insight into how to use a design-first approach when creating an API

Michael Stowe: About the author

Michael Stowe is a technology writer with a passion for big ideas. He has a particular interest in distributed systems, machine learning, and data-driven design. His writing has appeared in publications such as The Economist, The Atlantic, and Wired.

7. REST API Design Rulebook

The REST API Design Rulebook is a concise book that presents a set of API design rules, drawn primarily from best practices that stick close to the Web's REST architectural style.

Along with rules for URI design and HTTP use, you'll learn guidelines for media types and representational forms.

The book also introduces the Web Resource Modeling Language (WRML), a conceptual framework author Mark Massé created specifically for the design and implementation of REST APIs.

This guide will help you address the needs of client programs, including special needs of browser-based JavaScript clients, when designing your web service APIs. Following these simple rules will result in an API that adheres to recognized web standards.

If you're charged with creating or maintaining a REST API, this book will help you do it right.

Authors: Mark Masse

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Topics covered

You will learn how to:

Understand the basics of REST API design
Learn URI design principles
Apply HTTP methods and status codes
Work with media types and representational forms
Grasp the importance of metadata
Design for different types of client programs

Mark Masse: About the author

Mark Masse is a software engineer with over 20 years of experience. He has developed large-scale network systems and created a content management system that powers all of the Disney web sites, among other accomplishments.

8. Hands-On RESTful API Design Patterns and Best Practices : Design, develop, and deploy highly adaptable, scalable, and secure RESTful web APIs

8. Hands-On RESTful API Design Patterns and Best Practices Book Cover

Are you looking to build effective RESTful APIs for your enterprise?

If so, then this is the perfect book for you.

It covers everything from the basics of REST to advanced design patterns and best practices.

You'll learn how to implement patterns programmatically with easy-to-follow examples, modernize your legacy codebase using API connectors and microservices, and much more.

By the end of the book, you'll be able to create flexible APIs that meet the demands of today's rapidly changing business landscape.

Authors: Harihara Subramanian, Pethuru Raj

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Topics covered

You will learn how to:

Understand the basics of REST API
Learn about designing RESTful APIs
Understand advanced topics such as API gateways, API securities, and cloud
Implement patterns programmatically with easy-to-follow examples
Modernize legacy codebase using API connectors, layers, and microservices

Harihara Subramanian: About the author

Harihara Subramanian is a senior software architect for the SABRE Corporation. He has been working in the software development field since 1999 and focuses on technology consulting, software development, microservices architecture, and Service-oriented architecture. He is an active contributor to various online and offline forums and is a highly focused and energetic technology leader. In this book, Hari provides a practical guide to designing and building RESTful web services.

9. RESTful Java Web Services

If you're looking for a comprehensive overview of REST API development in Java, "RESTful Java Web Services" is the book for you.

The book provides a detailed explanation of all the key concepts you need to know, with plenty of code examples to help you understand them.

It is specific to Java, so if Java is not your thing, pick up a different REST API book.

Authors: Jobinesh Purushothaman

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Topics covered

You will learn how to:

Understand the basics of RESTful web services
Learn how to use the JAX-RS 2.0 API and Jersey framework for Java development
Secure your RESTful web services with various authentication mechanisms
Understand the design and coding guidelines to build well-performing RESTful APIs
See how the role of RESTful web services changes with emerging technologies and trends

10. REST API Development with Node.js : Manage and Understand the Full Capabilities of Successful REST Development

Best REST API book for Node.js developers

10. REST API Development with Node.js Book Cover

If you're a Node.js developer who wants to understand REST API development, this is the book for you.

This completely updated second edition provides a brief background on REST and the tools it provides, then explains how there is more to REST than just JSON and URLs.

You will learn about the maintained modules currently available in the npm community, including Express, Restify, Vatican, and Swagger.

Finally, you'll code an example API from start to finish.

Authors: Fernando Doglio

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Topics covered

You will learn how to:

Understand how REST and API development mix up with Node.js
Create a scalable, technology agnostic, and uniform interface
Prepare your services to be consumed by your clients
Test and deploy your API
Review troubleshooting techniques

About Josip

Josip Miskovic is a software developer at Americaneagle.com. Josip has 10+ years in experience in developing web applications, mobile apps, and games.

Follow @JosipMisko

1. Designing Web APIs : Building APIs That Developers Love

Topics covered

2. Designing Data-Intensive Applications : The Big Ideas Behind Reliable, Scalable, and Maintainable Systems

Topics covered

3. API Security in Action

Best Book for REST API Security

Topics covered

Neil Madden: About the author

4. API Design Patterns

Topics covered

JJ Geewax: About the author

5. Build APIs You Won't Hate : Everyone and Their Dog Wants an API, So You Should Probably Learn how to Build Them

Topics covered

6. Undisturbed REST : A Guide to Designing the Perfect API

Topics covered

Michael Stowe: About the author

7. REST API Design Rulebook

Topics covered

Mark Masse: About the author

8. Hands-On RESTful API Design Patterns and Best Practices : Design, develop, and deploy highly adaptable, scalable, and secure RESTful web APIs

Topics covered

Harihara Subramanian: About the author

9. RESTful Java Web Services

Topics covered

10. REST API Development with Node.js : Manage and Understand the Full Capabilities of Successful REST Development

Best REST API book for Node.js developers

Topics covered

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