Book Review - Joel On Software by Joel Spolsky
Category Book Reviews
Apress was kind enough to send me a review copy of Joel On Software by Joel Spolsky. Spolsky is the creator of the website http://www.joelonsoftware.com, where he waxes eloquent on issues related to software and software development. As the head of his own company, Fog Creek Software, he brings both a technical and a business perspective to many of his essays.
This is the latest in a trend of books based on a compilation of a person's blog writing. In Joel On Software, a selection of important and insightful entries over the last four years are gathered and presented in a single volume. In some ways, it's a selective "best of..." book that distills down the writings that the author feels are still worth examining. This could be due to truths that haven't changed or to show how much things *have* changed since the original entry. You could say why read the book, as you can get it all on the web site. True, but you don't get the opportunity to have the writer add any clarification based on hindsight.
Joel will make you think about issues you've likely ignored, and he'll also teach you a few things in the process. For instance, you may think you know everything about Unicode, but count on some new stuff in the essay "The Absolute Minimum Every Software Developer Absolutely, Positively Must Know About Unicode and Character Sets (No Excuses!)". And if you want to understand the two methods of growing your business, read "Ben & Jerry's vs. Amazon". Really good stuff to ponder...
This book will challenge, encourage, upset, and entertain you. Spolsky knows his stuff, and he's got the war wounds to prove it. This book is worth the price of admission...
Apress was kind enough to send me a review copy of Joel On Software by Joel Spolsky. Spolsky is the creator of the website http://www.joelonsoftware.com, where he waxes eloquent on issues related to software and software development. As the head of his own company, Fog Creek Software, he brings both a technical and a business perspective to many of his essays.
This is the latest in a trend of books based on a compilation of a person's blog writing. In Joel On Software, a selection of important and insightful entries over the last four years are gathered and presented in a single volume. In some ways, it's a selective "best of..." book that distills down the writings that the author feels are still worth examining. This could be due to truths that haven't changed or to show how much things *have* changed since the original entry. You could say why read the book, as you can get it all on the web site. True, but you don't get the opportunity to have the writer add any clarification based on hindsight.
Joel will make you think about issues you've likely ignored, and he'll also teach you a few things in the process. For instance, you may think you know everything about Unicode, but count on some new stuff in the essay "The Absolute Minimum Every Software Developer Absolutely, Positively Must Know About Unicode and Character Sets (No Excuses!)". And if you want to understand the two methods of growing your business, read "Ben & Jerry's vs. Amazon". Really good stuff to ponder...
This book will challenge, encourage, upset, and entertain you. Spolsky knows his stuff, and he's got the war wounds to prove it. This book is worth the price of admission...
| Permalink |
Comments
Posted by ken At 03:33:59 On 21/09/2005 | - Website - |