Books reviews, current events, and other musings

 
Tom DeMarco and Timothy Lister's Peopleware: Productive Projects and Teams is the classic book about managing software development. The central theme of the book is the importance of treating employees well and providing an environment in which they can be productive. Peopleware contains a great deal of reasonable and well-researched advice, which most companies continue to ignore.

The physical work environment is one important issue. DeMarco and Lister argue that developers need a quiet workplace in which they can concentrate: an office with a door instead of a cubicle. Then engineers are much more likely to get into the flow and be productive at their intellectual tasks. Giving each person sufficient physical space and reducing interruptions also have a significant impact.

Peopleware provides a lot of common-sense advice and observations. When people work overtime, they tend to become less productive and morale weakens. Imposing a strict methodology from above makes people less effective and motivated. A team that jells is dramatically more successful, and factors such as bureaucracy, physical separation, lower product quality, and phony deadlines prevent teams from jelling. Human capital is a company's greatest asset, making high turnover and layoffs very destructive.

Peopleware reinforces some of my prior impressions and makes some interesting suggestions. Its conclusions would apply to any information-focused workplace.
posted by Julian at 3:27 PM

 
According to American Prospect, the military is lobbying strongly, trying to prevent a war with Iraq. (from Red Rock Eater Digest)

Meanwhile, according to the same article, the administration is thinking about attacking Iran:

The Bush crew may get around the Iraq debate by attacking Iran first. According to multiple national security sources, plans for a "preemptive" strike against Iran's nearly completed nuclear reactor at Bushehr have already been developed.

posted by Julian at 10:27 PM

 
Martin Gilbert's A History of the Twentieth Century, Volume 3: 1952-1999 is a good book, though I didn't enjoy it as much as the first two volumes. Gilbert lost some of his enthusiasm while churning out volume 3, and I became somewhat tired of reading it. Still, it is satisfying to get through a 3000-page series, a year-and-a-half after starting it.

One thing that struck me was how distant the Cold War seems. After all, for a majority of my lifetime, along with the two preceding decades, the superpower conflict dominated world events, and nobody expected that situation to change any time soon. Now, I have to reach back pretty far to recall the USSR, the threat it posed, and the measures taken by the US to counter that threat. Gilbert emphasized the atrocities that Stalin and Mao Tse-tung orchestrated against their own people. The collapse of the Soviet Union was, as you might expect, the most exciting portion of the book.

I was curious to see how a first-rate historian would treat recent events, which I followed at the time. The US history was very familiar and not particularly illuminating. Sometimes, such as the discussion of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or the end of apartheid in South Africa, Gilbert provides a perspective that is difficult to obtain when reading the newspapers. Regarding other events, such as the war over the Falkland Islands, the book fleshed out the full story where I previously knew just the bare outline. Finally, Gilbert explained topics, such as the civil war in Sri Lanka, that I knew nothing about. The book frequently reminded me how poorly the American media covers international stories.

Gilbert went over the last few decades rather thoroughly, except for his neglect of Latin America. He focused on traditional history, such as wars and tumultuous changes. He didn't spend much time on countries, besides the superpowers, who were at peace. Gilbert mentioned technological developments, economic conditions, and disease, but those kinds of issues were not the main focus.

I'd recommend the entire series. Gilbert's writing is clear and well-structured. Plus, A History of the Twentieth Century provides an excellent way of filling in the gaps in your historical knowledge.
posted by Julian at 9:28 PM

 
There's a Blog Genealogy website, called BlogTree, which traces the blogs that inspired other blogs. You consider another blog to be your parent if that blog inspired you to start your own blog. My parents, for example, are Medley, Ghost in the Machine, and BookNotes. (Found on La Di Da, one of my blog siblings.)
posted by Julian at 7:03 PM