Comment by markus_zhang

I'd say anything that inspires you to move to a career that focuses on engineering, that you cannot get away by being half-ass, is a good book.

I recommend two books, none of them is technical. "Showstopper! The Breakneck Race to Create Windows NT and the Next Generation at Microsoft" and "The soul of a new machine".

Once you put yourself at the edge of knife, everything you want comes naturally, because you either swim or die.