Rating: 
Summary: Neither fowl nor fish
Review: The good: The book is an enjoyable read, it raised some interesting ideas, and it really motivated me to do "what I know is right" even when opposed by management or others in the organization.The bad: The book is both a novel and a project management text book - and as such it fails somewhat as either. As a novel the plot (especially the romantic plot) is too shallow and linear. As a project management text book it was difficult to know: Is this solution something DeMarco has researched and found useful, or is it merely speculation on his part? Since it is a novel, there's no way to tell - there are no references to real-world cases or research. Still - it WAS an enjoyable read, the main character was quite inspirational, some of the ideas quite fresh, and it was a welcome relief from heavier literature on the subject of project management.
Rating: 
Summary: Clever and lighthearted
Review: I just want to say I really enjoyed the Bill Gates scene, with the Twinkies. That was too good.
Rating:
Summary: Software Project Management - woven into a novel
Review: This book attempts to deliver the basic principles of successful software project management in the form of a novel and does that well. But like all other books, one has to be mentally "ready" to appreciate the contents this book has to deliver. The names of the characters are strange and I wonder why? A very good book overall.
Rating:
Summary: "Sofie's World" for manager
Review: Instructive and at the same time really entertaining stuff is a rarity. "The Deadline" belongs to this category. It has been my holiday-lecture and I've been very amused. Don't expect highly artistic literature (some turns of the plot and especially the end are light-fiction-like) but that's not been the authors intention. He provides a lot of useful knowledge for project-managing. His summararies at the end of every chapter are very helpful wherever people have to work together. It reminds me a little bit of "Sofie's World" by Jostein Gaarder. Both authors have the ability to handle complex topics in an easy, entertaining and striking manner. By the way: there appears also a guy like Billy G. - side-splitting!
Rating: 
Summary: Competitive Teams in one project works !
Review: I liked 2 of Tom's best ideas: 1. Competing teams 2. Doing away with testing thro' thorough designing. I used the first idea to create 3 competing teams for my Java/XML/Oracle project. Each team had to use a different architecture and different implementation with one deadline. The results amazed me. I got 2 different implementation of the same product in the same time and my teams were more motivated in this environment. The ground rule for all teams were No-Testing-Allowed. There was no testing phase at all. Of course management didn't take kindly to the idea of splitting up teams or doing away with testing and i had to lay my job on the line to achieve. It was real fun ! Iam glad it worked and iam grateful to DeMarco for his brilliant ideas.
Rating:
Summary: A Must Read for Managers in Software Dev
Review: The story line is a bit corny, but the messages certainly get across. A great book for any manager involved in software development.
Rating:
Summary: An easy read
Review: Duplicates much of what can be found in his earlier "Peopleware" book, but in a fun, easy-reading format.
Rating:
Summary: Not just for IT managers
Review: I got this book by mistake and started it to see how bad it could be, imagine a novel about project management! But I was hooked before the end of the first page. Great fun, starting with the most effective recruitment technique I've ever heard of, drugging and kidnapping your preferred manager. From there it gets even better, with enough project management and how to motivate people to make it a two-fer, a good read and a good learn.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing, reading this is just like being at work!
Review: My wife gave me this, more out of disbelief at the concept of such a book than anything. Surprisingly, it's not a bad read at all and is cetainly a good alternative to all the standard texts.
Rating:
Summary: An easy read, with great info.
Review: This runs in the vein of "The Goal" and other business novels: a thin story placed over solid theory. It reads better than some others, although I found the romance aspect a bit much...
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