essential books on QA/testing

Many thanks to Tony Davis for compiling this list.

http://www.sqaforums.com/showthreaded.php?Cat=0&Number=430242&page=0&vc=1

The following list of books has been compiled through discussion threads on the SQA Forums site. Criteria for entry on this list were decided on the following factors:

1. Cost – Less than $75 USD. This did exclude some excellent materials, but when it is usually the individual purchasing the books to further their knowledge, a limit was set.
2. Generality – Must be a general knowledge area and not a specific area of testing. Items like "Testing SAP Solutions" would be to constrained in the information provided to cross technical areas of testing.
3. Level if Interest – Items are from an entry/fresher level of perspective on the areas of involvement. This means that anyone who has no prior knowledge can learn something from the list of books in this document. It doesn’t mean that people who have been in the field for years won’t gain anything from reading the books listed, but it is not the primary focus.

General Testing:

* Software Testing Techniques - Beizer
* Testing Computer Software - Kaner/Falk/Nguyen
* How to Break Software - Whittaker
* How to Break Software Security - Whittaker/Thompson
* How to Break Web Software - Andrews/Whittaker
* The Web Testing Handbook - Splaine/Jaskiel
* Software Testing in The Real World - Kit
* Testing Client/Server Systems - Bourne
* Systematic Software Testing - Craig/Jaskiel
* Effective Software Testing:50 Specific Ways to Improve Your Testing - Dustin
* Software Testing and Continuous Quality Improvement - Lewis
* Quality Web Systems: Performance, Security, and Usability - Dustin/Rashka/McDiarmid/Nielson

Case Studies:

* Lessons Learned in Software Testing: Kaner/Bach/Pettichord
* Dare to be Excellent - Jarvis/Hayes

Requirements:

* Software Requirements - Wiegers
* More About Software Requirements: Thorny Issues and Practical Advice - Wiegers

Automated Testing:

* Automated Software Testing: Introduction, Management, and Performance - Dustin/Rashka/Paul
* Just Enough Software Test Automation - Mosley/Posey

Metrics:

* Metrics and Models in Software Quality Engineering - Kan
* Software Metrics: Establishing a Company-wide Program - Grady/Caswell

Test Management:

* Managing the Testing Process - Black
* Bad Software:What to Do When Software Fails - Kaner/Pels

Logic:

* The Philosophy Gym: 25 Short Adventures in Thinking - Law
* The Craft of Research, 2nd edition (Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing)- Booth/Williams/Colomb.
* Crimes Against Logic - Whyte

Programming/Technical:

* Code Complete - McConnell
* Teach Yourself C++ in 21 Days - Liberty/Jones
* Learning PERL - Schwartz/Phoenix
* Core PYTHON Programming - Chun
* Microsoft VBScript Step by Step - Wilson
* Webmaster in a Nutshell

Security Testing:

* The Art of Software Security Testing