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The book that has had the deepest impact on my professional development is Gravitation and Cosmology: Principles and Applications of the General Theory of Relativity, by Steven Weinberg (published in 1972 by John Wiley & Sons). The book describes in detail the mathematical framework and physics of general relativity, and then applies this to cosmology (the study of the universe and its contents).

As a young research student interested in general relativity and cosmology, both of my thesis advisors, Dr. Sheldon Glashow and Dr. Alan Marscher, independently recommended this text to me. The text is a brilliant combination of physics and mathematics, allowing the reader to develop deep intuition and problem solving abilities in astrophysics and cosmology. I still use this text today, and am forever grateful to my mentors and advisors for having recommended it to me.