The "classics"

[Doug Gwyn]

It seems to me that there are two major categories of "classic"
technical books:  those that should be read by anyone working in
the field, and those that serve as valuable references while
doing one's job.  For example, the two BSTJ/BLTJ issues on UNIX
fall into the first category while Abramowitz & Stegun falls
into the second.  Some books may fall into both categories (K&R
for example).