Keller's "ad hoc at home" is prob the best I have at describing technique and showing expected results and addressing a wide range of cooking styles. McGee is an encyclopedia of food knowledge.
You may want to narrow your scope some, Steven's on Braising is very good, MC makes my brain hurt and is primarily applicable to MC technique but when it clicks it clicks, "Cooking for Geeks" is inexpensive, a good read and usually informative. There are bread books, sauce books, flavor books, cake books sausage books, etc, that are at least as technique oriented as recipe oriented. No good BBQ book has been written yet, I just haven't had time....:cool2: