I studied mathematics in the 80's, a lot of my peers read the library copies routinely, either systematically from cover to cover, for specific reference, or for fun (flip open at random, see what you get) - maths people love maths books and TAOCP is very much a maths book - since then I've rarely met anyone with am actual volume set that seems to have any idea of the contents.
The Dragon book I still own, a paperbound version that's as dog eared as a book can get and still hang together as it was the reference for three of us working on a few compilers of our own back in the day.
The C Book I no longer have despite having bought four to five copies :( That book's never been much of a boomerang.
The Dragon book I still own, a paperbound version that's as dog eared as a book can get and still hang together as it was the reference for three of us working on a few compilers of our own back in the day.
The C Book I no longer have despite having bought four to five copies :( That book's never been much of a boomerang.