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Robert C. Martin writes on the benefits of TDD-style unit tests (bold-facing is my emphasis):

Have you ever integrated a third party library into your project? You got a big manual full of nice documentation. At the end there was a thin appendix of examples. Which of the two did you read? The examples of course! That's what the unit tests are! They are the most useful part of the documentation. They are the living examples of how to use the code. [...]

[...] I had been a programmer for nearly thirty years before I was introduced to TDD. I did not think anyone could teach me a low level programming practice that would make a difference. Thirty years is a lot of experience after all. But when I started to use TDD, I was dumbfounded at the effectiveness of the technique. I was also hooked. I can no longer concieve of typing in a big long batch of code hoping it works. I can no longer tolerate ripping a set of modules apart, hoping to reassemble them and get them all working by next Friday [...]