General Non-Fiction

Into Thin Air - Jon Krakauer's account of the ill-fated 1996 climbing season on Everest.

License to Steal - An anonymous insider's account of the retail tock trading business in New York City. If you ever thought of giving your money to broker who cold calls you, read this first. It will change your mind.

The Millionaire Next Door - Not one man's opinion of how to get rich, but a scholarly work produced from countless focus studies of actual millionaires. A genuine guide to accumulating wealth, but don't expect to find anything that makes it quick or easy.

Rogue Warrior - The autobiography of a Richard Marcinko, a Navy Seal who's real life makes Steven Seagal and Arnold Schwarzenegger pale by comparison.

About Face - The autobiography of David Hackworth, the most decorated soldier in U.S. history.

A Random Walk Down Wall Street - A classic must read investment book.

The Lexus and the Olive Tree - A an interesting point of view on global economics.

Catch me if you can - An amazing true crime story of a con man.

Friends in High Places - The inside story of Bechtel.

By Way of Deception - Victor Ostrovsky's inside account of the Israeli Mossad.

Bravo Two Zero - An amazing account of Andy McNab's (British SAS) venture behind the Iraqi lines in the Gulf War.

Business

Liar's Poker - An insider account of high stakes bond trading at Solomon Brothers. If you think you have seen office politics, read this, it will give you a new perspective.

The Art of War - a 2500 year old Chinese text written by Sun Tzu. Originally intended as guide to conducting war, it serves equally as well as guide to strategic planning for modern business.

The Macintosh Way - Guy Kawasaki's inside story of the evolution of Apple Computer and his view of how to manage.

How to Win Friends and Influence People - Not a discussion of manipulation, but an excellent guide to interpersonal skills.

The Go-Getter - An allegory written in 1921 that illustrates work ethic.

First Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently - A guide to supervisory skills. The collective results of 80,000 interviews conducted by the Gallup Organization during the past 25 years.

The 5 Great Rules of Selling - Percy Whiting's process for selling. The best book on the process of sales I have ever read. The Dale Carnegie sales courses are based on this book. Out of print and very hard to find.

The New New Thing - The story of Jim Clark, and how he started SGI, Netscape, and Healtheon.

Franklin Covey Style Guide for Business and Technical - An excellent reference for technical writing.

Accidental Empires : How the Boys of Silicon Valley Make Their Millions, Battle Foreign Competition, and Still Can't Get a Date - The real stories behind numerous high-tech startups.

Secrets and Lies : Digital Security in a Networked World - A comprehensive non-technical discussion of the problems of Internet security, from Bruce Schneier, a well know cryptography guru.

Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun - Actually has nothing to do with Attila the Hun, but this is the de facto guide to genuine leadership skills.

The Game of Work - A philosophy of management and motivation.

The ClueTrain Manifesto - What the Internet is really about.

Technology

The UNIX C Shell Field Guide - The de facto reference for the C shell.

UNIX Shell Programming - An excellent reference for the Bourne and Korn shell.

The UNIX Philosophy - Discusses application of the UNIX philosophy to software development in general.

Death March - Developer's guide to mission impossible projects.

The Psychology of Computer Programming - This classic is still as applicable today as it was 30 years ago. Provides amazing insight into the mind of the developer.

Applied Cryptography - Very technical, but the authoritive reference for most cryptography problems.

Software Leadership: A Guide to Successful Software Development - Good management level explanation of the benefits of using a good process for software engineering. Promotes RUP (Rational Unfied Process).

Software Craftsmanship: The New Imperative - Articulate discussion of the problems of excessive process in software development and the value of superstars.

The Ultimate Guide to VI and EX Text Editors - The best reference I have found on VI and EX.

Sun Performance and Tuning: Java and the Internet - A very good, but very technical reference on Solaris tuning.

Configuration and Capacity Planning for Solaris Servers - A very good reference for the design of solutions with Sparc/Solaris systems.

The Mythical Man-Month - An excellent tutorial on planning and managing software development projects.

Quality Software Management - The first in an excellent series on the process to produce quality.

Object Technology: A Manager's Guide - A good, non-technical overview of the OO paradigm.

Web/UI Design

The Psychology of Everyday Things - Not about software or the web in particular, but an excellent guide for anybody designing any type of user interface.

O'Reilly HTML: The Definitive Guide - The de facto reference for the HTML language.

Designing Web Usability : The Practice of Simplicity - The best single book I have found on how to design the look of a web site.

The Inmates Are Running the Asylum - Provides an excellent point of view on software usability and user interfaces.