A Programmer's Bookshelf

An anonymous reader writes "With christmas just round the corner I have been looking for gifts for my geek friends. But what book? I recently found a simple page with one person's bookshelf and explain what's good and what's not. What do you think? Whats on a programmer's bookshelf? (or what should be and is not!)"

Comments

3 names, "Gödel, Escher, Bach"

[eldavojohn]

GEB is simply amazing and really makes you think. It is a large tome but it was well worth the read when I read it in high school. It influenced me musically, mathematically and gave me insight to become a computer programmer.

It's a very common book and can be acquired cheaply on amazon, ebay and the wiki.

I also heavily recommend getting to know this site if you're willing to search through lists of books for good deals.

Re:Gifts for Christmas

[LWATCDR]

Hey I have some books on my wish list.
I do understand your thought. For a good Christmas gift might I suggest a Salvation Army Angel next year. It is too late to get one for this year. You can find a child that isn't going to get much for Christmas and shop for them. My wife and I did three this year. After we finished the first one we noticed they had a lot left and with only two days to go she decided to get two more. For feeling the Christmas spirit I highly recommend it. For the typical poster on Slashdot may I recommend some of Knuth's other books. The Art of Computer Programing is great but his other books might be of more use to a lot of people on Slashdot.