The Best Software Writing I: Selected and Introduced by Joel Spolsky (v. 1) Review

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(More customer reviews)I recently received a copy of The Best Software Writing I by Joel Spolsky. As with his other book, it's an entertaining read with a number of enlightening insights into what I do for a living...
Joel Spolsky has gathered a number of blog entries, essays, and speeches that showcase (in his opinion) the best writings by software professionals. He feels (and I have to agree) that most programmers and developers will avoid writing at all cost, and as a result are not very good at it. You end up with either indecipherable ramblings or dry monotone typing that is akin to enduring some form of medieval torture. And I confess... I probably have strayed into both those areas a few too many times for the sanity of my readers. But by showcasing techno-geeks that can write coherently and with a touch of humor and entertainment, Spolsky hopes to raise the overall level of writing competency in the industry. I don't know if he'll be successful, but it definitely can't hurt...
Because the writings cover a wide range of topics, there's something for everyone. Or conversely, not everything will appeal to every reader. "Style Is Substance" by Ken Arnold is (for me) a great piece that advocates making programming style a built-in element of a language. Think of the time you'll save by killing off all style wars up front. The cartoon piece "Excel As A Database" will cause all developers to think Rory Blyth must work somewhere in their company with their users. And "A Quick (And Hopefully Painless) Ride Through Ruby (With Cartoon Foxes)" will, although rather strange, give you more information about Ruby in a shorter period of time than you ever thought possible. On the other hand, "A Group Is Its Own Worst Enemy" by Clay Shirky was something I seemed to have to slog through. You may well have just the opposite reaction on any or all of these. It's one of the fun things about this compilation... :)
While you can obviously go out and find all this stuff on-line at the various sites, odds are you won't find what you don't know about. Joel brings together a nice mixture of thoughts and concepts, all packaged within an expert writing style. If you're a professional developer, you probably should pick up a copy and see how writing can be done well...

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It's nice having a collection of high-quality writing related to software and the business in one place instead of trawling the Web for it. Meryl K. Evans, meryl....an entertaining read with a number of enlightening insights into what I do for a living...The whole book is fantastic though, and you should absolutely pick it up...in dead tree form.This is a book worth checking out, even if you're not a software developer.With a nod to both the serious and funny sides of technical writing, The Best Software Writing I: Selected and Introduced by Joel Spolsky is an entertaining read and a guide to the technical writing literati.The Best Software Writing contains writings from:
Ken Arnold
Leon Bambrick
Michael Bean
Rory Blyth
Adam Bosworth
danah boyd
Raymond Chen
Kevin Cheng and Tom Chi
Cory Doctorow
ea_spouse
Bruce Eckel
Paul Ford
Paul Graham
John Gruber
Gregor Hohpe
Ron Jeffries
Eric Johnson
Eric Lippert
Michael Lopp
Larry Osterman
Mary Poppendieck
Rick Schaut
Aaron Swart
Clay Shirky
Eric Sink
why the lucky stiff

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