Books
The Man Who Broke Napoleon’s Codes
Title: The Man Who Broke Napoleon’s Codes Author: Mark Urban Paperback: 384 pages Publisher: Perennial (March 1, 2003) ISBN: 0060934557 This is the story of George Scovell and the British operations under the Duke of Wellington during the Napoleonic campaigns of the Peninsula (Spain) and the 100 Days (Waterloo). Scovell was a low ranking officer […]
September 11th, 2005 by alephnaught
Elizabeth I, CEO: Strategic Lessons from the Leader Who Built an Empire
Title: Elizabeth I, CEO: Strategic Lessons from the Leader Who Built an Empire Author: Alan Axelrod Paperback: 274 pages Publisher: Prentice Hall Press; 1st edition (May 1, 2002) ISBN: 0735203571 This book reflects upon the reign of Elizabeth I of England from the perspective of her leadership traits. I found this book by accident – […]
September 11th, 2005 by alephnaught
Stiff: the Curious Lives of Human Cadavers
Title: Stiff: the Curious Lives of Human Cadavers Author: Mary Roach Paperback: 304 pages Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (May, 2004) ISBN: 0393324826 This book was wonderful! I read it while on a vacation to Antwerp and Bruges . The book is full of interesting tidbits. For example, there’s a chapter on how plastic […]
September 11th, 2005 by alephnaught
Microsoft Secrets: How the World’s Most Powerful Software Company Creates Technology, Shapes Markets, and Manages People
Title: Microsoft Secrets: How the World’s Most Powerful Software Company Creates Technology, Shapes Markets, and Manages People Author: Michael A. Cusumano Paperback: 528 pages Publisher: Free Press (December 4, 1998) ISBN: 0684855313 This is a page of stuff copied from this book that I thought was interesting dealing with project/people management. Running a large team […]
September 11th, 2005 by alephnaught
Three books on creativity
I have an active interest in creativity, and here are three books I read (pretty much in a row) on the subject: The Creative Mind: Myths and Mechanisms , Margaret A. Boden, BasicBooks, 1992, 0-465-01451-8 Software Creativity , Robert L. Glass, Prentice-Hall, 1995, 0-13-147364-6 Thinkertoys: A Handbook of Business Creativity for the 90s , Michael […]
September 11th, 2005 by alephnaught
Aligning the Stars
Title: Aligning the Stars Author: Jay W. Lorsch, Thomas J. Tierney Hardcover: 240 pages Publisher: Harvard Business School Press; 1st edition (April 26, 2002) ISBN: 1578515130 This book is about how to align top performers in a professional services company. The PSF (Professional Services Firm) business model is based on helping the client make money, […]
September 11th, 2005 by alephnaught
Software Craftsmanship: the New Imperative
Title: Software Craftsmanship: the New Imperative Author: Pete McBreen Paperback: 192 pages Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional; 1st edition (August 23, 2001) ISBN: 0201733862 I had been looking for a book that captured some of the ideas that had been revolving round my head for the last couple of years. I’ve been involved with a few software […]
September 11th, 2005 by alephnaught
Death March
Title: Death March Author: Edward Yourdon Paperback: 304 pages Publisher: Prentice Hall PTR; 2 edition (December 7, 2003) ISBN: 013143635X Two things of interest I found in Death March by Edward Yourdan: Formal risk management — This is a concept I’ll discuss later in this chapter. Agreement on interfaces — hardware interfaces, software interfaces, and […]
September 11th, 2005 by alephnaught
Human Error
Title: Human Error Author: James Reason Paperback: 316 pages Publisher: Cambridge University Press (October 26, 1990) Language: English ISBN: 052131419 Overview This book is very academic, but does have useful information about the reasons people make mistakes and how to categorize them. This kind of information is crucial for understanding how to make software more […]
September 11th, 2005 by alephnaught
Under Pressure and On Time
Title: Under Pressure and On Time Author: Ed Sullivan Paperback: 304 pages Publisher: Microsoft Press; 1 edition (April 4, 2001) Language: English ISBN: 073561184 Under defining requirements (p. 143), Ed suggests defining general requirements and then more and more specific sub-requirements. Then, on p. 150, Ed draws a rectangle for categorizing requirements (pp. 148 Â […]
September 11th, 2005 by alephnaught