This is quite possibly one of the most terse, clearly-written CS theory books that there is. ( )

This was one of the better textbooks I had to use, in terms of aesthetics, design, layout, and materials, but I was always frustrated by its use of animistic metaphor for rigorous algorithmic processes -- a Turing machine no more "wants" or "expects" something than a rock does. At the same time, the examples were usually more illuminating than in other texts, so I can't complain too much. ( )