George Orwell, "Politics and the English Language" 1946

This is a great essay. This, along with the "Newspeak" appendix of "1984" should be required reading for all programmers.

Why? Because these two essays should make the reader aware of what limitations a particular language imposes on the (unconsious) user. Most programming books only tell you about the power a language gives the user, they do not talk about limitations.