M. Neuburg
Publisher: O'Reilly Media
Cited by:
A programming book whose influence on me was really surprising was AppleScript: The Definitive Guide. I picked it up because I wanted to re-learn enough AppleScript to automate some iTunes playlist-generation, and was blown away by this 600 page codex! AppleScript is a terrible language, and everybody knows it. The book doesn't heap disdain on AppleScript, but also doesn't act like it's wonderful, either. It teaches you the language, pointing out the dangerous bits and the fascinating ones, and at no point did I feel like I was being sold a bill of goods. It served as support, to me, that correct teaching was much more interesting, in every way, than "language advocacy."
-- Ricardo Signes