My Dad loved to cook and one of his favorite cookbooks was "The Joy of Cooking." By the time he died, the pages of his copy were stained and dusted with flour from being constantly used in his kitchen.



Why did he like it so much? Because not only did it have great recipes, it also explored the basic ingredients and methods and told interesting stories about cooking.



That's why "The Algorithm Design Manual" could be called "The Joy of Algorithms." Not only has it become my "goto" book for finding the right algorithmic approach to a problem, it is a joy to read with Skiena's "war stories" and his lively writing style.



Just like my Dad's "The Joy of Cooking" was never far from his stove, "The Algorithm Design Manual" will never be far from my computer.