Those of us who go to the sea in small boats are encouraged to pack a "ditch bag"—an easily-grabbed, waterproof container in which essential items, such as a cellphone or radio, a distress beacon, flares, medicines and other important belongings have been placed for use if it becomes necessary to abandon ship. Last month, I asked four colleagues to tell me which three books they would grab from their technical library if confronted with an "emergency exit" crisis. This month, I continue with selections from four other industry notables.
David Dossot, founder of Agile Partner SA, picks David Thomas and Andrew Hunt's Pragmatic Programmer: From Journeyman to Master (Addison-Wesley, 1999) and says it is "inspiring reading for those who would want to progress on the narrow path. Beyond technical discussions, the reader is oriented to a true ethic of work." For Java programmers, Dossot claims that Joshua Bloch's Effective Java Programming Language Guide (Addison-Wesley, 2001) gives you "the fundamental concepts and building blocks for writing robust code to be proud of." For his final pick, Jim Collins' Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap ... and Others Don't (Collins, 2001) is worth your attention because it "offers a relevant insight on the organizational decisions that can transform a good working place into a great one."
Software Development magazine Contributing Editor Mike Riley picks Jim McCarthy's Dynamics of Software Development (Microsoft Press, 1995) because he "tells it like it is, not as how it should be." McCarthy is "like the George Carlin of software development expertise. Witty humor punctuates the truth of his craft, and this book captures a snapshot of his best practices and real-life experiences." Riley credits Steve McConnell and his Code Complete (Microsoft Press, 2004) for transforming him from a casual programmer to serious developer. Finally, Riley would select Tim Berners-Lee's Weaving the Web: The Original Design and Ultimate Destiny of the World Wide Web (Collins, 2000) for reminding him "how a simple idea can change the world. This is the book I want my kids to read when they're older so they can understand the moment of conception of an electronic world they now take for granted every moment of their day."
Jim Highsmith, author of Adaptive Software Development: A Collaborative Approach to Managing Complex Systems (Dorset House, 1999)—which Rick Wayne singled out last month—would first grab his original copy of Jerry Weinberg's The Psychology of Computer Programming (Dorset House, 1998). "Jerry has written so many great books over the years delving into the 'soft' science part of software development," but this one is notable for being the first to explore this area. Highsmith would also join Larry O'Brien and me in recommending Tom DeMarco and Timothy Lister's Peopleware: Productive Projects and Teams (Dorset House, 1999). Highsmith's work, of course, depends heavily on research in complexity theory, and he credits Mitchell Waldrop's Complexity: The Emerging Science at the Edge of Order and Chaos (Simon & Schuster, 1992) as "greatly influencing my writing and thinking, especially in my first book (Adaptive Software Development)."
Alistair Cockburn can always be relied upon to furnish provocative answers to questions such as these. When he was a lead consultant in a project in which the junior people were not learning from the senior people, Cockburn turned to Jean Lave et al.'s Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation (Cambridge University Press, 1991) for inspiration about "the importance of line-of-sight learning in apprenticeship models," an insight that later led him to "understand programming as an apprenticeship profession"—which, in turn, revealed insights into what is now known as pair programming.
David Gries' The Science of Programming (Springer, 1989) simplified and helped make Cockburn's code error-free by revealing techniques for first stating the postconditions, and then working backwards from them. Finally, he discovered a framework for understanding how to more effectively work as a consultant, particularly with concurrent development, in Eliyahu Goldratt's The Goal (North River Press, 1984).
I've concurred with others in selecting Peopleware for my ditch bag, and last month I added Stephen McMenamin and John Palmer's Essential Systems Analysis. At the risk of dating myself, I've added a book that helps me bridge the divide between art and science—Robert Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values (Morrow, 1974). Pirsig reminds me that the Zen concept of total involvement and attention to detail—manifested in the quality of our work—is as important as the technical arcana of bits and bytes with which we immerse ourselves daily.
Write me at [email protected] or visit www.warrenkeuffel.com to share the indispensable books that make their way into your ditch bag.
