10 API Books That Separate Experts from Amateurs

While working as a software architect in banking, Arnaud Lauret noticed how many APIs failed to meet users' needs due to poor design. His book teaches you to approach API creation with a consumer-first mindset, balancing business goals with technical requirements. You’ll learn practical skills like gathering clear requirements, evolving APIs securely, and documenting them effectively, all illustrated with real-world examples. If you’re new to building or consuming APIs, this book lays out essential principles that help you create APIs that developers actually want to use.

While working extensively with .NET technologies, Andrew Lock noticed many developers struggled to harness the full potential of ASP.NET Core, prompting him to write this detailed guide. You learn how to build professional-grade web applications with C# and ASP.NET Core 7.0, including creating minimal APIs, implementing authentication and authorization, and managing data with Entity Framework Core. The book offers practical examples like building Razor Pages websites and custom middleware, helping you grasp both backend API and full-stack development skills. If you're aiming to deepen your understanding of ASP.NET Core for real-world applications, this book lays out the core concepts and advanced techniques clearly and methodically.

This personalized AI-created book explores the critical aspects of API design, security, and testing tailored specifically to your interests and goals. It covers foundational principles while diving deep into advanced topics like authentication, threat mitigation, and automated validation processes. By focusing on your background and desired sub-topics, it reveals a unique pathway through complex API concepts that matches your learning pace and objectives. This tailored approach ensures you engage with content that truly matters to your development needs, making intricate API challenges approachable and understandable.

What sets this book apart is the direct involvement of Josh Ponelat, Swagger Open Source lead, who brings authentic, hands-on expertise to API design. You’ll learn the nuts and bolts of OpenAPI syntax, how to use Swagger tools for crafting API definitions, and practical techniques for authentication, versioning, and cross-team collaboration. The book walks you through real API projects from start to finish, including generating client SDKs and handling error responses. If you're a web developer new to API design, this offers a well-paced introduction with examples that build your confidence rather than overwhelm you.

James Higginbotham's extensive experience as a software architect shines through in this detailed exploration of API design. He offers a methodical approach that takes you through the entire lifecycle, from aligning stakeholders on clear goals to selecting the right API styles like REST, gRPC, or GraphQL. The book teaches you how to map user requirements into coherent API profiles and refine those designs through real-world feedback loops. Whether you're leading a single team or managing enterprise-wide API programs, this guide equips you to deliver APIs that truly meet customer and product needs, with practical examples like EventStorming and microservice decomposition.

Drawing from his deep expertise in applied cryptography and application security, Neil Madden offers a detailed exploration of how to build secure APIs tailored to varied environments. You’ll gain practical skills by constructing a social network API, mastering methods like token-based authentication, OAuth2, and securing microservice and IoT APIs. The book systematically covers everything from authentication protocols to cloud key management and lightweight cryptography, making it a solid technical guide for developers serious about API security. While the examples use Java, the concepts apply broadly, so if you’re building or managing APIs in complex settings, this book will sharpen your security approach.

This tailored book offers a focused journey through API design, security, and testing condensed into a 30-day rapid skill-building program. It explores essential concepts and practical techniques needed to create, protect, and validate APIs, blending foundational knowledge with hands-on tasks. The content matches your background and targets your specific goals, ensuring each chapter addresses your unique learning needs. You'll examine API design principles alongside security best practices and testing methods, all organized into daily lessons that build your expertise progressively. This personalized approach keeps you engaged and maximizes learning efficiency, helping you confidently bridge the gap between theory and real-world API development challenges.

Prabath Siriwardena and Nuwan Dias bring deep practical experience from leading security architecture roles at WSO2 to this focused guide on microservices security. You’ll learn how to tackle the unique challenges of securing microservices networks and API endpoints using tools like Kubernetes, Istio, and Java-based examples. The book walks you through securing north-south and east-west traffic, implementing access controls at the API gateway, and deploying services securely with container orchestration. If you’re an experienced developer with some Java background aiming to build resilient, secure microservices systems, this book delivers the concrete skills and frameworks you need without fluff.

Corey J. Ball brings his extensive cybersecurity expertise to this focused exploration of API security testing. You’ll learn how REST and GraphQL APIs operate in real environments and set up a dedicated testing lab using tools like Burp Suite and Postman. The book guides you through practical labs that cover common vulnerabilities such as excessive data exposure, JSON web token flaws, and NoSQL injections, offering a clear path to identifying and exploiting these weaknesses. If you’re involved in penetration testing, bug bounty hunting, or securing APIs, this book delivers concrete skills and insights tailored to today’s web application challenges.

After years immersed in APIs, Matthias Biehl crafted this guide to tackle the persistent challenges of RESTful API design. You’ll gain hands-on knowledge about using description languages like RAML and OpenAPI to streamline both design and development. The book walks you through managing APIs as products with a customer-first approach, covering the entire lifecycle from inception to maintenance. Readers dealing with legacy systems or microservices will find practical strategies for connectivity and scalability, while chapters on versioning and evolution prepare you to build APIs that stand the test of time. If you want detailed best practices on resources, URIs, HTTP methods, and performance, this book delivers without fluff.

Valerio De Sanctis, with over two decades in web development and leadership roles including CTO and CSO, shares his deep expertise in this practical guide to building APIs using ASP.NET Core. The book walks you through setting up a real project from scratch, covering essential skills like integrating with SQL Server, designing RESTful and GraphQL APIs, and deploying on Microsoft Azure. You’ll find clear examples, such as creating a board games API, and learn to use tools like Swagger for documentation and Entity Framework Core for data modeling. If you’re comfortable with .NET and want a hands-on approach to modern API development, this book offers a solid foundation without unnecessary complexity.

Mark Winteringham's extensive experience as OpsBoss at Ministry of Testing shines through in this focused guide on web API testing. You learn how to design a tailored testing strategy, implement automation suites, and apply contract testing with Pact, all grounded in practical scenarios like exploratory and performance testing. The chapters walk you through everything from initial test design discussions to executing tests in production, equipping you to assess and mitigate risks effectively. If you're involved in QA or development and want to elevate your API testing beyond basics, this book offers clear, hands-on insight without unnecessary complexity.