To get an image of how the language grew (from a mid-90s perspective), you can read &quot;The Design &amp; Evolution of C++&quot; by Bjarne Stroustrup. Then read &quot;The C++ Programming Language (4th ed.)&quot; to understand the new parts. And read &quot;C++ Core Guidelines&quot; (free on GitHub!) to grasp some best practices in modern C++. And, of course, practice.