Top 5 Software Testing Books

Lessons Learned in Software Testing, by C. Kaner, J. Bach, and B. Pettichord (2001)
An excellent compilation of ideas from three well-respected people in software testing, Cem Kaner, James Bach, and Bret Pettichord. The book contains more than 300 statements/questions/ideas, in the form of a sentence or two, and each is followed by several paragraphs of explanatory information, all in a highly readable format. Includes a great deal of practical advice along with testing philosophies.

Testing Computer Software, by C. Kaner, J. Falk, and H. Nguyen (1999)
This book has been a standard reference for software testers since it's first edition was published in 1988 and second edition in 1993. Chapters include "The Objectives and Limits of Testing", "Test Case Design", "Localization Testing", "Testing User Manuals", "Managing a Testing Group", and more. The authors are all experienced in software testing and project management, and the book discusses many of the practical and 'human' aspects of software testing. (Note: The 1999 edition is the same as the 1993 edition)

Perfect Software and Other Illusions About Testing, by G. Weinberg (2008)
Weinberg is a prolific author of software engineering books including 'The Psychology of Computer Programming' and the 'Quality Software Management' series. 'Perfect Software' is an accessible and readable discussion of many of the non-technical yet highly challenging aspects of software testing. Topics include 'What Testing Cannot Do', 'Why Not Just Test Everything', 'How to Deal with Defensive Reactions', 'What Makes a Good test', 'Major Fallacies About Testing', 'Testing Scams', and more.

How to Break Web Software, by M. Andrews and J. Whittaker (2006)
The full title is 'How to Break Web Software: Functional and Security Testing of Web Applications and Web Services'. This is a practical and readable book focusing on web security testing, with chapters on how web security testing issues are different, testing attack strategies, authentication, privacy, web services, and more.

Testing Applications on the Web, by H. Nguyen, R. Johnson, and M. Hackett (2003)
This book's author is also a co-author of another top software testing book, 'Testing Computer Software' (see above). The book covers topics such as a comparison of web testing to traditional testing, test planning, document templates, load and stress testing, functional web testing, database testing, security testing, mobile web app testing, and includes real examples of web tests and bugs and web test tool information.