"The topics to study really depend on the programming task"

I agree... My day job does not involve any heavy mathematical problem solving, but a good intro to discrete or concrete mathematics (IMHO) proves to be a good foundation for programming in general.

I studied in an Indian curriculum and have had a lot of math schooling, but it was always done "wrong", with more emphasis on getting the answer right with no need to understand _why_ that answer is right, hence my reason to ask for a good book that others found an enjoyable read and one that teaches the concepts right. I always found math to be interesting, though sadly haven't done much of it since graduation...

Thanks for the link to the Springer series. I have never heard of it, but I will look into them, though honestly, the Knuth book does intrigue me. Looks like a time to hit the local bookstore...