While there are many amazing math books out there that specialize in a particular branch, I tend to prefer generalist books that cover a wide range of topics.

While there are many amazing math books out there that specialize in a particular branch, I tend to prefer generalist books that cover a wide range of topics. It you want something that starts with the absolute fundamentals, What Is Mathematics? is a perennial classic. I think that one starts with addition and takes you all the way through advanced calculus. If you want a comprehensive survey of nearly all major branches in mathematics written by some of the most prominent Soviet mathematicians, you’ll want Mathematics: Its Content, Methods and Meaning. If you want more of a reference-style encyclopedia, The Princeton Companion to Mathematics is a good one. If you want to build a solid foundation for math tailored to computer science, look no further than Concrete Mathematics, coauthored by Donald Knuth himself.