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Books a Computer Scientist Can't Possibly Do Without
The Art of Computer Programming: v. 1-3: Bd. 1: Fundamental Algorithms / Bd. 2: Seminumerical Algorithms / Bd. 3: Sorting and Searching: Vol 1-3 (Series in Computer Science & Information Processing)The Art of Computer Programming: v. 1-3: Bd. 1: Fundamental Algorithms / Bd. 2: Seminumerical Algorithms / Bd. 3: Sorting and Searching: Vol 1-3 (Series in Computer Science & Information Processing) by Donald E. Knuth
Buy new: £81.85 / Used from: £81.14
Comprehensive and encyclopedic, unthinkable that it could be omitted.
Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs, 2nd Edition (Mit Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Series.)Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs, 2nd Edition (Mit Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Series.) by Harold Abelson
Buy new: £28.79 / Used from: £25.15
Ignore the reviews, this is light-hearted, intellectual and profound.
Introduction to AlgorithmsIntroduction to Algorithms by TH Cormen
Buy new: £35.09 / Used from: £16.00
A splendid reference and first text. You will and should keep coming back to it,
Computational ComplexityComputational Complexity by Christos H. Papadimitriou
Buy used from: £44.85
Well developed and rigorous discussion of an important subject.
Modern Operating Systems (Goal)Modern Operating Systems (Goal) by Andrew S. Tanenbaum
Buy used from: £8.17
Thorough, solid introduction to the field.
Computer Networks (International Edition)Computer Networks (International Edition) by Andrew S. Tanenbaum
Buy new: £44.14 / Used from: £25.00
The other half of the Tanenbaum pair - again a thorough treatment.
Computer Architecture: A Quantitative Approach (International Student Edition) (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Computer Architecture and Design)Computer Architecture: A Quantitative Approach (International Student Edition) (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Computer Architecture and Design) by John L. Hennessy
Buy used from: £20.00
A well-written, massively detailed and empircally driven coverage. Definitive.
Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid (20th anniversary edition with a new preface by the author)Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid (20th anniversary edition with a new preface by the author) by Douglas R Hofstadter
Buy new: £13.26 / Used from: £11.39
Touches on the more sublime and philosophical side of computation.
Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach (International Edition)Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach (International Edition) by Stuart Russell
Buy new: £49.39 / Used from: £35.20
A practical, yet still abstract, tour of classical artificial intelligence.
Information TheoryInformation Theory by Robert B. Ash
Buy new: £8.20 / Used from: £6.76
Representative of a genre, but a good introduction Read Shannon's paper as well.