The C++ Programming Language (Special 3rd Edition)

C: A Reference Manual (5th Edition)

The UNIX Programming Environment

Absolute Beginner's Guide to C (2nd Edition)

Programming

The C Programming Language (2nd Edition)

Format: Paperback
Author: Brian W. Kernighan
ReleaseDate: 22 March, 1988
Publisher: Prentice Hall PTR
Rating:

One of the all time greats
It is unpretentious and to the point, assuming that you have the general concept of what it means to program a computer and want to learn the C language. For learning C programming, this book is the gold standard. It is gentle, but not touchy-feely, and guides you through what you need to know.

Personally, I think "The UNIX Programming Environment" by Kernighan and Pike is an excellent companion to this book (assuming you have a Unix-like environment with tools like make, yacc, and lexx). That book conveys much of the philosophy of Unix and C that has made them such powerful and lasting foundations for everything we use in computers today. Taken together, these two books give a solid (albeit fairly low-level) foundation.

Now, you may ask, why would I want to learn the C language and these low level tools today, when I really want to create great Web 2. 0 sites using Ruby on Rails? (Now that's a reference that's going to date quickly, I fear. ) The answer is: you probably don't. For a great many programmers, there is probably no reason to master these basics that are so close to the core of the machine. But if you are intent on mastering software development from high-level fast prototyping to low-level "to-the-metal" tweaking, this is where you need to go, and this book will convey the enjoyment and purity of working at that level with computers.

P. S. Shout out to Anne Glaser - if you see this, it's the best answer I can give to your question - sorry I didn't see it earlier.

Best book but not for beginners
Early on in the book the authors say that this book is not for a beginner programmer, so if you are a newbie in programming please pick up a different book before diving into this one. Authored by the guy who invented the C language and the first edition of the book being the known standard for C for over a decade, this book is one of those unique books that is a must read if you want to learn how to program. This book is also refereed to as the K&R C and is the bible for the C programming language. The text has a simple structure as well as style from the beginning it follows the same ideas of Unix as well as the C language (they invented Unix as well as C). The author defiantly knows the language although I did notice that some of the ideas were not clearly presented on some occasions. All the programs in the book compile perfectly and there are questions asked pertaining to the chapter and section. One of the downsides with all the books I read on C so far is that they do not give you the complete answers to the questions. This one is no different as there is no answers to the questions asked in the book ( you could buy the The C Answer Book: Solutions to the Exercises in the C Programming Language to actually find the answers). One issue was that the book assumes too much as is not a tutorial style book as other books. The book is also not up to date with the standards (after all the 2nd edition was published in 1988 well before the C99) so a new edition must come sooner or latter. I have read the book 2 times and I am still sketchy on some of the ideas presented with this book. The book is 185 pages although so it is straight to the point, but maybe the authors traded the number of pages with the ability to explain things more clearly. .

Simply the Best....
It is lean and mean, packed with all one needs to learn the language effeciently and effectively. No fluff in this text. This book is a must read for anyone wanting to learn C and will serve as a valuable reference in the years to come. .