by Fred Brooks

isbn: 0201835959
subject: Nonfiction, Computing
finished: 4/12/1998

Developing large pieces of software is really hard. Fred Brooks has a pretty good idea why, and what to do about it; the title refers to the maxim that throwing people at a late project will make it even later. There are very few computer science books that are useful 20 years after they were written -- this is one of them, and anybody who writes software should read it. Be sure to get the expanded edition; the "silver bullet" essay is excellent.