The Coastal Kayaker's Manual

Randel Washburne
Globe Pequot Press
ISBN 1-56440-153-7

An excellent all-round book, easy to read. Buy it now.



Expedition Kayaking On Sea And Open Water

Derek C. Hutchinson
Globe Pequot Press
ISBN 1-56440-721-7

More specialised, but full of tips for a big trip.



Fundamentals of Kayak Navigation

David Burch
Globe Pequot Press
ISBN 1-56440-155-3

The title is a little modest. 
"Every little detail about Navigation and more"
might be better. But it's easy to read, and full
of good stuff. The discussions of tide and current
issues I found particularly useful, along with 
techniques for estimating distance.



Sea Kayaker's Deep Trouble

Matt Broze and George Gronseth
Ragged Mountain Press
ISBN 0-07-008499-8

A catalogue of fatal and near-fatal kayaking accidents
in the Pacific Northwest. Sobering, and educational.
The idea is to point out what people did wrong, 
but in many cases it seemed that people made good decisions
once problems occured, and the main bad decision
was to buy a kayak instead of a bicycle.



The Bombproof Roll and Beyond

Paul Dutky
Menasha Ridge Press
ISBN 0-89732-085-9

Not a book for everyone, but if you're a technique freak, 
you can fill your quiver of paddle strokes from this.
I paddle for exercise on the same stretch of water a lot,
and thinking about the issues in this book makes routine
outings less tedious, but it's probably more useful
for white-water and surf guys.