Inspirational Books In Software Development

A few weeks ago I was asking people if they’ve ever read an inspiring book about software development. There are many great books that are educational books. They show you how to build the latest whizz-bang application using the version 2.0 of the whizz-banger framework. An inspirational book, in my mind, transcends any specific technology and makes you think differently about how you approach your job.

Two books came up as answers time and time again.

Extreme Programming Explained: Embrace Change by Kent Beck

The original edition of this book was published in October of 1999 – one decade ago. Ten years! That’s like 100 years of software time. The book turned the rules of engagement for software development around. We don’t need big design up front. Software shouldn’t be hard to change – ever! Having an enterprise architect fly in to meet with the team 2 days of every week and draw arrows on the conference room whiteboard does more harm than good.

Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship by Robert C. Martin

Clean Code is a great book. Many people told me the book has inspired them to be better developers. I personally didn’t find the book inspiring, but I did find it extremely thought provoking. So provoking I’ve read it twice and even put together a book club to meet and discuss the book with other people (we meet for lunch every other Thursday at the food court in the mall of Columbia, MD). Sometimes we agree with Uncle Bob, and sometimes not – but either way we have to think about we do every day from a different perspective.

What books would you add to the list?