Understanding Algorithms is important for effective software engineering. And it's also important to balance one's study; for every page you read about algorithm recipes, you should read at least a page or two that discusses how the algorithm was applied to solve a particular problem.

• Applied Algorithms

  Beautiful Code is a book of interviews with master engineers, each discussing how they elegantly solved a tough problem. The problems are solved using a range of languages, however, listening to the experts talk about their process is priceless and inspiring.

• Programming Pearls is a great book that shows how some algorithms were applied to programming problems in innovative ways. All of the code is in C, but most of the text focusses on how the problems are approached.

• Algorithms Recipes and Analysis

  Sedgwick Bundle of Algorithms Vol.1 and 2 Sedgewick's work is a landmark. The Java code in the book leaves something to be desired; I'll post my updated version of the sources soon.

• Mastering Regular Expressions is a great book. Although most engineers have some level of regex proficiency, there is always more to learn and this book does a good job of cataloging and explaining the differences between the regex implementations of different computer languages.

• The Algorithm Design Manual is an encylopedia of solutions. Many esoteric formulas and approaches are explained in this text. It also has a catalog of algorithmic problems, with advice and explanation of what to use when.

• Introduction to the Design and Analysis of Algorithms covers data structures, evaluating efficiency, and detailed analysis on the merits and drawbacks of different approaches (e.g. decrease and conquer, transform and conquer, iterative improvement, etc).

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