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Rating: 
Summary: He shouldn't have changed his mind.
Review: Although I haven't yet finished this book I can't help but feel that he was closer to the mark with his first book. In the last three years many foreign countries have been ramping up the amount of software development they do for American (and European) clients. Local software developers cannot compete on cost, so they must compete either on innovation or quality. They're not making it on quality and innovations can only take you so far.
Rating:
Summary: He shouldn't have changed his mind.
Review: Although I haven't yet finished this book I can't help but feel that he was closer to the mark with his first book. In the last three years many foreign countries have been ramping up the amount of software development they do for American (and European) clients. Local software developers cannot compete on cost, so they must compete either on innovation or quality. They're not making it on quality and innovations can only take you so far.
Rating:
Summary: Outdated and almost completely wrong
Review: I had to buy this for my CASE tool class. First of all, Yourdon's reliance on "models" to illustate his concepts is ridiculous. The Maturity model, the SEI model...its all useless.If people in the IT industry tried to follow these models, they would end up "dead and destroyed." This book is boring, as well. It is his attempt at redeeming himself after his first book. I could go on and on...
Rating:
Summary: Outdated and almost completely wrong
Review: I have read this book three years ago when I was a programming consultant. It is amazing to see the parallel between Yourdon's thoughts in the book and the current Software Engineering Institute CMM methodology. It is as if the whole new methodology was based on this book! This book definitely reads better than SEI's documentation. You can finish the book in a couple of days and retain the mahority of the ideas presented. If you are a programming supervisor, IT manager, or an enthusiastic software engineer, this book is fun, captivating, and very motivational.
Rating:
Summary: Very disappointing
Review: I just graduated with a degree in History, but have been entertaining the idea of getting involved in computers in some fashion. The only problem is that I have no background at all and have little Idea where to start. I picked up Rise and Resurrection hoping to get some sort of direction. Yourdon's book is wonderfully written and very understandable. He does a great job of explaining the opportunities available in the computer world, and presents his take on burgeoning technologies and tools. I would recommend this book to anyone in the computer field, interested in getting into the computer field, or simply with an interest in computers.
Rating:
Summary: Not exactly Yourdon's best book
Review: While Yourdon's "Death March" wasn't another "Mythical Man-Month" by any measure, "Rise" is yet in another (much lower) class. Does Yourdon want to become a true industry pundit? Ed, your style is too clear for that; and you're writing in harback format, which doesn't blissfully disappear like all these magazines. There are many valuable insights: the section on best practices, for example. The good thing is that Yourdon doesn't just talk about them: he lists a few. "User Manual as Specification" is so simple, so obviously good... why have we done anything else ever? "Good-enough software" is valuable as well, not because you're not doing that already, but because the key is making it a fully conscious and accepted process. And then there are some chapters that I'd rather not talk about; the one about Java, for example. The author obviously got carried away. In hindsight, this is easy to say, but still: it lacked realism, even if Microsoft hadn't tried foiling Sun's plans since day 1. Overall: read Yourdon's other books, they're worthier of your money. And if you haven't the classics like "MMM" (Brooks), go there first.
Rating:
Summary: Not exactly Yourdon's best book
Review: While Yourdon's "Death March" wasn't another "Mythical Man-Month" by any measure, "Rise" is yet in another (much lower) class. Does Yourdon want to become a true industry pundit? Ed, your style is too clear for that; and you're writing in harback format, which doesn't blissfully disappear like all these magazines. There are many valuable insights: the section on best practices, for example. The good thing is that Yourdon doesn't just talk about them: he lists a few. "User Manual as Specification" is so simple, so obviously good... why have we done anything else ever? "Good-enough software" is valuable as well, not because you're not doing that already, but because the key is making it a fully conscious and accepted process. And then there are some chapters that I'd rather not talk about; the one about Java, for example. The author obviously got carried away. In hindsight, this is easy to say, but still: it lacked realism, even if Microsoft hadn't tried foiling Sun's plans since day 1. Overall: read Yourdon's other books, they're worthier of your money. And if you haven't the classics like "MMM" (Brooks), go there first.
Rating: 
Summary: Decline and Fall, Version 2.0
Review: Yourdon writes a book (Decline and Fall of the American Programmer) predicting doom and gloom, and when he's proved wrong, does he offer a free refund? Or at least apologize? No, he asks his readers to invest more money to learn why the previous book was all wrong. No thanks for me.
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