michael_dorfman

SICP by a mile

"Sophie's World" if you prefer fiction

Knuth's "Concrete Mathematics" is a great book--but it might not count as "basic" enough for your purposes, depending on your background.

Knuth's "Concrete Mathematics" is a lot of fun.

"Thus Spoke Zarathustra") but in general

like "Being and Time"

"Existentialism is a Humanism", "Thus Spoke Zarathustra")

The two books you mention in the question (Common Sense

I can't think of a better textbook than Samuelson.

Introduction to Microcomputers

Husserl's "Logical Investigations"-- but incredibly difficult to read unprepared.

"On the Fourfold Root") are both quite readable