A co-worker recently recommended that I read Knuth's classic "The art of computer programming". I have a lot of respect for this co-worker, but then I've heard some negative things about these ...

The art of computer programming Venners: I recently dusted off Donald Knuth’s The Art of Computer Programming (Addison-Wesley Pub Co., 1998; ISBN: 0201485419), which extensively covers algorithms.

He is the author of the multi-volume work, the magnum opus, The Art of Computer Programming. He made several key contributions to the rigorous analysis of the computational complexity of algorithms.