Programming is the art of writing algorithms in a formal language.
The C Programming Language, Brian Kernighan, Dennis Ritchie, 1978
Why's (poignant) Guide to Ruby, Why the Lucky Stiff, 2006
Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs, Abelson/Sussman, 1996
Paradigms of Artificial Intelligence Programming, Peter Norvig, 1992
On Lisp, Paul Graham, 1993