There are so many chess books that any list is going to be pretty arbitrary. Here's what I would recommend:
Chess Fundamentals, by J.R. Capablanca
The Ideas Behind the Chess Openings, by Reuben Fine
The Game of Chess, by Siegbert Tarrasch
My System, by Aron Nimzovich
500 Master Games of Chess, by S. Tartakower
Chess Master Versus Chess Amateur, by Max Euwe
Logical Chess: Move by Move, by Irving Chernev
Play Winning Chess, and other books from the series by Yasser Seirawan