Blogger Jon Jagger describes himself as a self employed software consultant-mentor-trainer-programmer etc specializing in agile software development (people and process), test driven development, deliberate practice, design, analysis, OO, UML, curly bracket languages (C#, C++, Java)
Jon recently published a list of 10 (+1) books he would like to have if marooned on a desert island. It's a fascinating list, and not only because it contains three of my books. You can read Jon's justification for each book at:
http://jonjagger.blogspot.com/2009/09/desert-island-books.html
But here they are. How many have you read?
* [1] Kevin Ashurst. (1977 Long out of print). World Class Match Fishing, Cassell, ISBN 0304-297291.
* [2] Phillip Pullman. (1995). The Northern Lights (The Golden Compass in USA, Knopf), Scholastic, ISBN 043995178X
* [3] Douglas Adams. (1979). The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy, Pan, ISBN 0330258648
* [4] Gerald Weinberg. (1985). The Secrets of Consulting, Dorset House, ISBN 0932633013
* [5] Gerald Weinberg. (1998). The Psychology of Computer Programming: Silver Anniversary Edition, Dorset House, ISBN 0932633420
* [6] Monty Python. (2001). The Life of Brian (screenplay), Metheun, ISBN 0413741303
* [7] Jon Bentley, (1989). Programming Pearls, Addison Wesley, ISBN 0201103311
* [8] Fred Brooks (1985 2nd edition). The Mythical Man Month, Addison Wesley, ISBN 0201835959
* [9] Peter Senge (2006 2nd edition). The Fifth Discipline, Random House, ISBN 1905211201
* [10] Gerald Weinberg (2001). Introduction to General Systems Thinking Silver anniversary edition, Dorset House, ISBN 0932633498
* [11] John Gall (2002 3rd edition). The Systems Bible: The Beginner's Guide to Systems Large and Small , General Systemantics Press, ISBN 0961825170
So, that's Jon's list. What would be on yours? Are any of Jon's choices books that you wouldn't care to have on your desert island?
p.s. Jon's going to be at AYE Conference in November, and so will I, in case you would like to discuss choosing books and other topics with us.
Hi Jerry,
ReplyDeleteI tried, but just couldn't build my Desert Island Reading List in a few minutes...but that is a great idea!
I will try to think about my top 10 readings in the following days, and I'd love to discuss about this with you and Jon at the conference (I will also attend).
I've read five. I would add the Bible to the list.
ReplyDeleteI've just written an article for TEST magazine that was about the 7 books that have influenced my career. Secrets of Consulting was on it.
ReplyDeleteFull list is here
Musashi, Miyamoto. The Book of Five Rings
ReplyDeleteSun Tzu. The Art of War
Berne, Eric. Games People Play
Harris, Thomas. I'm OK, You're OK
Joseph Weizenbaum. Computer Power and Human Reason: From Judgment to Calculation
Rene Descartes. Discourse on the Method
And of course the Bible, King James Version, since I read it as literature and poetry, not Divine Word.
Mythical Man Month : Essays on Software Engineering (Anniversary Ed.) by Frederick Brooks
ReplyDeleteThe Fifth Discipline : The Art & Practice of The Learning Organization by Peter Senge
Design Patterns : Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software by GoF (also known as Eric Gamma, Richard Helm, Ralph Johnson and John Vlissides )
Getting To Yes - Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In by Roger Fisher & William Ury
Influence : Science and Practice by Robert Cialdini
Fearless Change : patterns for introducing new ideas by Mary Lynn Mann & Linda Rising
The Goal by Eliyahu M Goldratt
Agile And Iterative Development : A Manager's Guide by Craig Larman
Quality Software Management volumes 1-4: by Jerry Weinberg
Refactoring : Improving the Design of Existing Code by Martin Fowler
With the following being close runners up.
Agile Retrospectives : Making Good Teams Great by Esther Derby & Diana Larsen
The World Is Flat : A Brief History of the Globalized World in the 21st Century by Thomas Friedman
The Toyota Way : 14 Management Principles from the World's Greatest Manufacturer by Jeffrey Liker