Even the CLRS Introduction to Algorithms is maybe a little heavy if you just want to use the algorithms. If you're in that category, the Sedgewick "Algorithms

Even the CLRS Introduction to Algorithms is maybe a little heavy if you just want to use the algorithms. If you're in that category, the Sedgewick "Algorithms in (language of your choice)" books are probably the best bang for the buck. There's also Jeff Erickson's Algorithms book, which is available free online. http://jeffe.cs.illinois.edu/teaching/algorithms/ http://jeffe.cs.illinois.edu/teaching/algorithms/ Disclaimer: I had Erickson as a professor many years ago (though I strongly doubt he remembers me).