tom alison dot com

Books Worth Reading

Managing Humans: Biting and Humorous Tales of a Software Engineering Manager

The management section of software bookshelves typically has a bunch of books explaining various methodologies like Agile and XP. They're typically written by consultants and tend to be a little heavy on process and dogma.

"Managing Humans" is the total opposite. It's a humorous collection of anecdotes about the people and personalities that inhabit the software development world in both start-ups and larger corporations. And you don't need to be a manager to enjoy it. For some samples, check out some articles from the author's blog; 1.0 and The Nerd Handbook are both fun reads.

Rainbows End

I'm not an erudite science fiction reader, but this 2007 Hugo Award winner is excellent. It's author, Vernor Vinge, helped define the notion of the Singularity and Rainbows End provides an entertaining look at what that slippery concept might look like twenty years from now.