Eric Raymond's Art of UNIX Programming is excellent for budding programmers, even those who are not UNIX enthusiasts. I am not as convinced as Mr Raymond that

Eric Raymond's Art of UNIX Programming is excellent for budding programmers, even those who are not UNIX enthusiasts. I am not as convinced as Mr Raymond that UNIX is the be-all and end-all of computer operating systems, but regardless of one's position on that, the book is filled with practical lessons, illustrated with many real-life examples. It focuses on general principles and not nitty-gritty details of UNIX.