As another post has stated, this isn't a very helpful post on learning to cook, and is more Amazon affiliate links than anything else. If people are genuinely interested in cooking and Culinary Arts, below is a book suggestion list, which should have free online PDF versions of them. This list is meant for people who wish to cook professionally, but for themselves, at home, for friends, so on. The list circles around recipes, theory, history, technique, so forth. More generally put, "kitchen knowledge."

Note, these books are meant for dedicated inquisitive cooks who are eager to learn. If they're gonna sit on a coffee table or be used for average homemade meals, then these aren't for you. These books are the starting point and foundation of some of the most important chefs in history. It's up to you to Google the book and figure out what it's about and why it's so important (most should have Wiki pages). This is list is only meant to serve as a starting point for what to Google in the first place.

All the books (should) have English translations, however they vary. Some translations leave things out, or give literal translations rather than the meaning, etc. The original title is used so you can have a source point to choose your own translations based on reviews/descriptions.

Listed by order of importance (per my opinion). Mostly focused on haute cuisine and Italian, but another list for Japanese at the bottom. Note, I am biased against nouvelle cuisine, so you'll have to Google that for yourselves.

[Haute Cuisine] Le Guide Culinaire - Auguste Escoffier

[American/Haute] The Professional Chef - The Culinary Institute of America (As well as the Bakery/Pastry version)

[Haute Cuisine] Le Répertoire de la Cuisine - Louis Saulnier

[French/Haute Cuisine] Larousse Gastronomique - Prosper Montagné

[Haute Cuisine] L'Art de la cuisine française au dix-neuvième siècle - Marie-Antoine Carême (Completed only 3/5 volumes before death)

[Italian] La scienza in cucina e l'arte di mangiar bene - Pellegrino Artusi

[Italian] Il cucchiaio d'argento - Domus

[Haute Cuisine] Ma Gastronomie - Fernand Point

[Italian] Ecco il tuo libro di cucina - Pellegrino Artusi (Still looking for a copy, much less a translated one)

[Technique] La Technique [OR/AND] New Complete Techniques - Jacques Pepin

[Why ___?] On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen - Harlod McGee

[Pairing] The Flavor Bible - Andrew Dornenburg

---[Japanese]---:

Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art

Sushi: Jiro Gastronomy

*[Next 3 are "maybes", haven't had time to read/research them fully.]

Ivan Orkin (Chef focused on Ramen)

Cooking with Kimiko-san

Kimiko's World: Cooking, culture, and festivals of Japan

---[Additional]---:

Ruhlman Twenty - Michael Ruhlman

White Heat - Marco Pierre White

Sauces - James Peterson

Cookwise/Bakewise