What is the single most influential book every pro

Question

If you could go back in time and tell yourself to read a specific book at the beginning of your career as a developer, which book would it be?

I expect this list to be varied and to cover a wide range of things.

To search: Use the search box in the upper-right corner. To search the answers of the current question, use inquestion:this. For example:

inquestion:this "Code Complete"

Answer 1

Concepts, Techniques, and Models of Computer Programming.

alt text http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51YZ50ZR13L._SL500_AA240_.jpg

Answer 2

Object Oriented Analysis and Design with Applications by Brady Booch

Answer 3

The Practice of Programming

and

How to solve it by computer

alt text http://img.infibeam.com/img/7101e0ee/496b1/05/629/P-M-B-9788131705629.jpg?hei=200&wid=160&op_sharpen=1

Answer 4

Extreme Programming Explained: Embrace Change by Kent Beck. While I don't advocate a hardcore XP-or-the-highway take on software development, I wish I had been introduced to the principles in this book much earlier in my career. Unit testing, refactoring, simplicity, continuous integration, cost/time/quality/scope - these changed the way I looked at development. Before Agile, it was all about the debugger and fear of change requests. After Agile, those demons did not loom as large.

Answer 5

The Mythical Man-Month by Fred Brooks http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mythical_Man-Month

Answer 6

K&R

@Juan: I know Juan, I know - but there are some things that can only be learned by actually getting down to the task at hand. Speaking in abstract ideals all day simply makes you into an academic. It's in the application of the abstract that we truly grok the reason for their existence. :P

@Keith: Great mention of "The Inmates are Running the Asylum" by Alan Cooper - an eye opener for certain, any developer that has worked with me since I read that book has heard me mention the ideas it espouses. +1