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by bigyikes 1017 days ago
The Pragmatic Programmer[1] is a classic that reasonably fits your description.

> For twenty years, the lessons from The Pragmatic Programmer have helped a generation of programmers examine the very essence of software development, independent of any particular language, framework, or methodology.

I’m not sure whether it’s “beginner” enough for you, but it is certainly general and foundational.

[1]: https://pragprog.com/titles/tpp20/the-pragmatic-programmer-2...