Rating: 
Summary: Good book ruined by poor editing.
Review: "Hitchhiker's Guide to the _Universe_"?" ... because 31 in octal is 25 in decimal." instead of " ... because OCT 31 == DEC 25"? Plenty of typos, misspellings and typesetting errors too. Overall a decent read if you can get over this, but one can't help but wonder, if Lohr pays this little attention to his own craft (writing), how accurate can his statements about the software world be? If he's cleaned up these "bugs" for the second edition, and my suspicions about carelessness in other areas are unfounded, then it gets four stars.
Rating:
Summary: interesting, not fluent
Review: Everybody will find something of interest in this history of software engineering. I'm not much of an historian, so I particularly enjoyed learning some of the historical perspective. For example, there's a great description of the group that created COBOL, a now reviled business programming language. They were the senior programmers of their day. Some of them had been working for four years! Do you know what kind of dreck I was writing when I had been working for four years? Suddenly COBOL seems like quite an accomplishment. Despite the interest of the material and the well-chosen breadth of coverage, this book does suffer from a strange lack of fluency. Part of the problem is that the prose has some of the wooden quality that tends to emerge when reporters write full-length books. (Though let me note that some reporters, like George Johnson or Malcolm Gladwell, write superlative books.) But the greater problem is that this book was written by somebody a little too removed from the field; it's like hearing a history of computing from your slightly technophobic uncle, the one who pretty much peaked with the advent of cordless phones. It's hard for me to explain exactly why it seems this little bit awkward. It's not a technical problem -- I don't expect any concrete details in a book like this. The problem is more a lack of cultural fluency, as revealed by such minor slips as references to "work stations" (usually spelled without a space) or "the hitchhiker's guide to the universe" (my copy says "galaxy"). Part of the problem may also be that the author's editors failed him, letting phrases like "he would took advantage" or "the experience did not little to alter" slip through. (NB - I write my reviews before reading others, and it was interesting to note how much my impressions agreed with everybody else's when it came time to post.)
Rating: 
Summary: A fascinating Software History 101
Review: For a narrative history of computer programming, from the pre-Fortran days to the present, this book does a remarkably good job. It describes in vivid, readable fashion the people, the period, and the problems they solved. It also gives the reader a real sense of the kind of creativity involved in programming, the excitement and what it takes. The book is filled with neat historical tidbits (from the origins of the term "beta" to the notes of Charles Simonyi, a Xerox PARC refugee who joined Microsoft, to Bill Gates, laying out much of that company's plans for the next 20 years). For anyone interested in software, and the extraordinary cast of characters behind the technology, this book is a clear, well-written, authorative survey. It covers a lot of ground -- and it it does it awfully well!
Rating:
Summary: good set of bedtime stories ...
Review: I haven't read this book cover to cover. But, I have been flipping through a few of its pages and have been jumping in and reading what seems interesting at the moment.
Overall, the book is quite well written. The stories are engaging. Some editing would help. Is the history correct? I don't know! Is the book enjoyable? Definitely! It's my favorite bed-time stories!! ;-) Fun to read. Very non-technical. So even your mom (assuming she's non-techie) can also read it and be amazed as how the software industry (mostly the languages part of the industry) has progressed over the years.
Rating:
Summary: Useful Chronology of Operating Systems & Langusges
Review: The writer, a NY Times technology correspondent, provides a 250-page chronology of computer operating systems and software languages from the early post-WWII years until 2001. A few important applications such as VisiCalc and Word are also covered. Brief mention is made of hardware trends that created the environment for software engineering.
This is a "people" book. Brief biographical sketches of the key players are followed by a description of the most basic characteristics of each software item and a brief chronology of its emergence into the marketplace. There is little in the way of analysis and little personal opinion.
The book reads like a long Britannica article and is a suitable overview and reference for serious students of technology but more than a little boring for the general reader.
I was surprised that Gary Kildall only received half of one sentence. His Digital Research Company and its early microcomputer operating system, CP/M, was an early business success. A variant of CP/M, Seattle Computer Products 86-DOS, was the backbone of Gates' DOS for the IBM PC.
Rating:
Summary: Get This Book!!!
Review: This book contains a remarkable set of stories about about truly important innovations in the field of software. The stories are lucidly constructed. It is very easy for the reader to grasp the important ideas represented by each case study example. Also, the personal side of these great software contributors is also highlighted, making the stories even more engaging to read. The book should appeal to a very wide range of people. Technical and research specialists in software might already know the facts presented, but will enjoy the well crafted presentation of the stories. People with no prior background in technology or software will find this an invaluable introduction to the history of the field, and to some of its great ideas. Those interested in the general process of innovation and commercialization, without particular interest in software per say, will benefit from the examples presented. Students should be encouraged to read this, to see how the habits and obsessions of creative young people evolved into creations that changed the world. I highly recommend this book. It is a notable accomplishment to produce such a work which can transmit such important ideas and recent history in an entertaining way to such a broad range of readers.
Rating: 
Summary: README
Review: This book could have been better edited and better organized, but it is still worth reading. "GO TO" (which probably should have been called "goto" or "GOTO") covers the history of computing, touching on several of the famous legends. It even tells of the work some of them did pryor to becoming legends. All computer scientists, computer engineers, and sys-admins should have a good understanding of the history of computing and this book is a good place to get it. This book should prove informative and enjoyable to any one else, especially people interested in history.
Rating:
Summary: README
Review: This book could have been better edited and better organized, but it is still worth reading. "GO TO" (which probably should have been called "goto" or "GOTO") covers the history of computing, touching on several of the famous legends. It even tells of the work some of them did pryor to becoming legends. All computer scientists, computer engineers, and sys-admins should have a good understanding of the history of computing and this book is a good place to get it. This book should prove informative and enjoyable to any one else, especially people interested in history.
Rating:
Summary: Explains the beginning of software for computres
Review: This book gives a detailed history of the development of IT industry since 1950. From Fortran, Cobol, C, Visual Basic, C++, Java to HTML, UNIX, .... It is a fantastic summary for anyone in the IT industry. I taught 5700 people in 19 colleges/companies in the last 25 years. 2% of these people are working in the IT industry. Had they read this book, more of them will start the IT career. It is a wonderful way of making a living, not the stereo-type nerd that TV and media projected.
Rating:
Summary: Don't be so harsh!
Review: This book isn't aimed specifically at experienced programmers, but rather at the general public. My mom could read it. That doesn't even mean it's a bad book if you are a programmer. It's an amazing software-history crash course and a must for younger programmers. The emphasis is on the people and concepts, not on technicalities. This is why I disagree with the other reviewer who suggested "The Design and Evolution of C++" instead of this book. While Stroustrup's document is also a must for any serious programmer, it only covers the history of C++, and his motivations for particular features of the language. GOTO on the other hand gives a birds-eye view of software and software development from the ENIAC to open-source Linux in a simple and concise way. I found the writing to be good and funny, making it an enjoyable read. Quotes are used very well and the information that each page is full of is well layed out on the length of the book. The author stays objective and doesn't impose you his opinion as some of the more "controversial" topics are often revisited from different perspectives, giving you the chance to make your own mind. An enjoyable and instructive book.
| 
