Pat says: This recent update of McConnell's original book from ten years ago has enormous value, containing everything but the kitchen sink in rules of thumb for programming.  Want a lucid definition of CASE tools?  Want a rundown of the "goto" debate? An informed discussion about ideal function (method) length?  Or an article advocating self-documenting code?

For definitions of software engineering jargon, historical background, and a summary of techniques, this book contains many nuggets that make for entertaining and informative reading.  Steve McConnell has an attitude, but he's so honest about it that it hardly offends.