http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Knuth

http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~knuth/

This multivolume work is widely recognized as the definitive description of classical computer science. The first three volumes have for decades been an invaluable resource in programming theory and practice for students, researchers, and practitioners alike. The bible of all fundamental algorithms and the work that taught many of today's software developers most of what they know about computer programming. --Byte, September 1995 Countless readers have spoken about the profound personal influence of Knuth's work. Scientists have marveled at the beauty and elegance of his analysis, while ordinary programmers have successfully applied his "cookbook" solutions to their day-to-day problems. All have admired Knuth for the breadth, clarity, accuracy, and good humor found in his books. I can't begin to tell you how many pleasurable hours of study and recreation they have afforded me! I have pored over them in cars, restaurants, at work, at home! and even at a Little League game when my son wasn't in the line-up. --Charles Long Primarily written as a reference, some people have nevertheless found it possible and interesting to read each volume from beginning to end.A programmer in China even compared the experience to reading a poem. If you think you're a really good programmer! read [Knuth's] Art of Computer Programming! You should definitely send me a resume if you can read the whole thing. --Bill Gates Whatever your background, if you need to do any serious computer programming, you will find your own good reason to make each volume in this series a readily accessible part of your scholarly or professional library. It's always a pleasure when a problem is hard enough that you have to get the Knuths off the shelf. I find that merely opening one has a very useful terrorizing effect on computers. --Jonathan Laventhol For the first time in more than 20 years, Knuth has revised all three books to reflect more recent developments in the field. His revisions focus specifically on those areas where knowledge has converged since publication of the last editions, on problems that have been solved, on problems that have changed. In keeping with the authoritative character of these books, all historical information about previous work in the field has been updated where necessary.Consistent with the author's reputation for painstaking perfection, the rare technical errors in his work, discovered by perceptive and demanding readers, have all been corrected. Hundreds of new exercises have been added to raise new challenges. 0201485419B04062001