I'd agree with you on Cormen's Algorithms but the original post already mentioned Algorithms (which could mean one of two texts that are considered standard in the field but both cover about the same territory).

But I'd be interested in knowing what books you refer to as far as giving faster results beyond that(TAOCP is dense which I'll agree makes it a difficult read). I've never found a book that covers the same information as TAOCP and while I hated every second of reading it when I was being forced to do so I have to admit the knowledge has served me well