Christopher Logue's War Music http://www.amazon.com/War-Music-Account-Books-Homers/dp/0226... It's the beginnings of a modern retelling of Homer's Iliad. If you like it there are two other short books (All Day Permanent Red and Homer Cold Calls).

Don't be scared off by it being poetry. It is easily understandable and has an economy and elegance of phrasing that I have yet to see elsewhere.

I've always thought that poetry and coding have a lot in common. A focus on structure, economy, and elegance as well as working with the language to best effect.