Jon Bentley's books are outstanding but don't fall into the quick read category in my opinion. They are complex and need careful study (and working the exercis

Jon Bentley's books are outstanding but don't fall into the quick read category in my opinion. They are complex and need careful study (and working the exercises) to get all you can from them. His 1982 book, Writing Efficient Programs, and the 1981 precursor, Writing Efficient Code, ought to be read by every C programmer. Sadly, they are now out of print and hard to find. Writing Efficient Programs is a breezy tour of the tricks of the trade, but it is a serious list of hints (some subtle, some not) for making efficient programs.