I would nominate:
How to Play Good Opening Moves, by Edmar Mednis:
The best discussion on the opening for beginners that I read. However, it has an UNBELIEVABLE amount of typos! But is is cheap.
AND
Victor Bologan, Selected Games: 1985-2004, by Victor Bologan:
This is a WONDERFUL game collection! GM Bologan gives us a great selection of his games in many openings. He annotates them with an eye towards the edification of his readers!! Always gives a few lessons to be learned from each game, AND gives a nice account of his rise in the chess world. He also gives us a few thoughts on how the super tournaments are run. One of THE best game collections I have ever read.
There are some excellent chess books that seem to receive little recognition from the chess community. The spotlight is definitely on the bestsellers, such as My System, Reassess Your Chess, Logical Chess Move By Move, etc. Nothing unusual, but there are some wonderful books that are hardly ever mentioned on the forums. Here are some examples:
1. The Chess Analyst by Jon Edwards. Edwards is a US Correspondence Champion, and the book is a collection of his games. The book was published in 1998, so it is a bit dated in terms of opening theory, yet it is still a great read due to the clarity of the author's annotations. This is not a book of endless variations, but a clear commentary on the game:
2. My Most Memorable Games by Boris Gelfand. Gelfand is scheduled to play Vishy Anand for the WCC title, and for middlegame/late opening analysis, this book is a standout. Unlike in Edward's book, you will find extremely detailed analysis here, plus a bonus section on a Grunfeld variation in which Boris is a specialist.
3. Wonderboy by Simen Agdestein. A somewhat overlooked account of Magnus Carlsen's rise to the chess elite. The book was written in 2008, and obviously does not cover some of Magnus' more spectacular wins in London or Wijk aan Zee . In fact, Carlsen was not yet ranked in the top 10 when the book was published. Nevertheless, the quality of the games played and the story behind his rise is well worth reading. There is not as much game analysis here as in Gelfand's book; it is the story of the prodigy that is the focus.