Which narrow subset in particular, and why do you say that?

What would you recomend to someone starting at this area?

John Ousterhout's "A philosophy of software design" and Fred Brook's "The design of design"

Any other resources you recommend?

John Ousterhout's "A Philosophy of Software Design". But this does prompt the question: If these two books about software/program design are so different then which is correct and why is there such a gap? In my experience (like kiitos above) I don't see much scope for HtDP for most industry programming and I have worked in few different domains.

This is a textbook for the introductory programming course, the first programming experience for many students. Maybe it would be better titled, "How to solve the programming exercises in an introductory course"

I see a lot of value in this. It gives a step-by-step method that students can follow, which often works. The prevailing alternative seems to be, "Look at a lot of examples, pick one that looks similar to the exercise, and change it around by trial and error until it kind of works." This does not generalize to professional level programming either.

At this initial stage, the goal is to build the students' confidence that if they work systematically, they can solve problems. As their education and experience continue, they can take on more realistic problems and methods.