See my answer here for the rationale behind this policy
Note that this will require some community members to commit to curating the book questions by adding the banner, etc. This can't go through unless we get enough people who are willing to patrol for book questions and spruce them up to fit policy. If you wish to help, just say so in a comment below this answer.
I am using the word "resource" instead of "book" here, as this policy can apply to requests for websites as well. Note that reference requests are different, these usually have one or two answers.
##What is a resource recommendation question?
A resource recommendation question is one that asks for a resource (which can be a book, website, or other resource) to learn a topic from.
This is not the same as a reference-request, which asks for a specific paper in which a derivation or concept is explained.
##What sort of resource recommendation questions are allowed here?
Resource recommendations must ask for descriptive answers. It's not enough to ask for a list of books that cover topic X — a simple Amazon search can provide that.
Instead, you should ask for recommendations, which specify:
- What the book covers
- How it covers it — is it rigorous? Intuitive? How is the writer's style?
- What are the prerequisites?
and similar questions.
Actually, this becomes more of a constraint on answers to resource recommendation questions, which brings us to the next point:
##How should I answer a resource recommendation question?
If you wish to answer a resource recommendation question, the answer should be substantive, and give as much information about the book as possible. Try to explain the style of the author, as well as listing the topics it covers well and the topics which it isn't so thorough with. Try to list the prerequisites too.
##As a community member, how can I help?
If you see a rather narrow resource recommendation, see if you can convert it into a "Could someone explain X to me" instead. Such questions are much more useful to the OP and the site in general, because the explanation is on-site and the reader need not go elsewhere to learn. So, if a resource recommendation looks directly answerable with a reasonable-length answer, then convert it to such a question.
Otherwise, aside from grammar/formatting fixes, edit the following banner into the top of our question:
Before answering, please see [our policy] on resource recommendation questions. Please try to give substantial answers that detail the style, content, and prerequisites of the book. Explain what the book is like as much as you can; that way the reader can decide which book is most suited for them rather than relying on the suggestions of others. Answers which just suggest a book will be deleted.
Then, flag for community-wikification.