Editorial Review:
Joel, Apress, Blogs, and Blooks
I was learning the hard way about how to be a publisher and probably spending way too much time looking at web sites and programming than I should have in response to that. Anyway, one day I came across this web site called Joel on Software, which was run by a guy with strong opinions and an unusual, clever writing style, along with a willingness to take on the conventional wisdom. In particular, he was writing this ongoing series about how bad most user interfaces were—mostly because programmers by and large knew, as Joel and I would say, using the same Yiddish–derived NYC vernacular that we both share, “bupkis” about what users really want. And I, like many, was hooked both by the series and the occasional random essay that Joel wrote. And then I had this epiphany: I'm a publisher, I like reading his stuff, why not turn it into a book?
Read the complete Foreword — Gary Cornell, Cofounder, Apress Since the release of the bestselling title Joel on Software in 2004, requests for a sequel have been relentless. So, we went back to the famed JoelonSoftware.com archives and pulled out a new batch of favorites, many of which have been downloaded over one million times. With Joel’s newest book, More Joel on Software, you’ll get an even better (not to mention updated) feast of Joel’s opinions and impressions on software development, software design, running a software business, and so much more. This is a new selection of essays from the author’s web site, http://www.joelonsoftware.com. Joel Spolsky started his web log in March 2000 in order to offer his insights, based on years of experience, on how to improve the world of programming. This web log has become infamous among the programming world, and is linked to more than 600 other web sites and translated into 30+ languages! Spolsky’s extraordinary writing skills, technical knowledge, and caustic wit have made him a programming guru. With the success of Joel on Software, there has been a strong demand for additional gems and advice, and this book is the answer to those requests. Containing a collection of all–new articles from the original, More Joel on Software has even more of an edge than the original, and the tips for running a business or managing people have far broader application than the software industry. We feel it is safe to say that this is the most useful book you will buy this year. What you’ll learn - The best approaches to managing and hiring extraordinary people
- Advice for those interested in the software industry as a career and for managers who want to get them
- Joel’s unique impressions of how to create products and design—good and bad
- An “in the trenches” look at how to start and run an effective software business (or any business for that matter)
- A true sense of what it takes to create a differentiated, unique, motivated organization
Who is this book for? Anyone interested in the software business will truly enjoy this book, but in particular this should be required reading for managers of technical businesses.
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Customer Reviews
Average Customer Rating: 
The book that every software developer needs...  2008-10-10
in short... Joel on Software and More Joel on Software are essential for every software developer. When I interview a software developer from now on I will ask if he or she read these books and if not ... you know!
Oh no more Joel. 2008-10-06
"More Joel on Software" is exactly what it says. It's a follow-up on "Joel on Software", a collection of blog posts from Joel Spolskys well-known blog "Joel on Software". I thoroughly enjoyed the first collection of Joels posts and thus was looking forward to this. And... I was disappointed. It IS good, Joel is an excellent and funny author and his posts are interesting, but... it was not as good as the first collection of posts :) Is he running out of ideas? We'll see in "Even More Joel on Software" which ought to be ready in four years...
Slight disappointment, but still enjoyed Joels latest collection of posts. Let me point out a few of his posts to give an idea what he covers.
The first post "My First BillG review" was a great story in which Joel tells his experience with Bill Gates reviewing his spec for MS Excel (many years ago) and how Bill reacted to the spec and what impression it led to him. It's a nice post and gives an insight to the working of MS during that time.
"The Perils of JavaSchools" criticized the universities that uses Java as main languages for teaching computer science. Joel argues that developers do not learn "the hard parts" about programming when using a language like Java.
In "Why are the MS Office File Formats So Complicated" Joel takes a look at the insanely large file format spec for Office files and explains why they became the way they are. Then he gives some advise on what to do when you want to read Office files (not write it yourself)
In "Hitting the High Notes", Joel explores the productivity difference between developers from many different perspectives and argues that great developers are absolutely essential for great products. This was his main idea behind setting up his own business. He looks at productivity and quality from different perspectives.
All in all, More Joel contains 300 pages with Joel blog posts. It's worth reading and I enjoyed it a lot. Joel has an "interesting perspective" on certain topics. Worth reading, but if you haven't read "Joel on Software" then I'd recommend to read that first.
Joel rocks! 2008-09-02
I have been subscribing to his email list for quite a while, and he always entertains you *and* makes you think.
This book is composed of his collected writings from his website. I'm posting this review mostly to counteract the "1" rating given by the person who didn't realize that, even though it says so in the description of the book......
Don't waste your money (like I did)  2008-08-12
This is cut and paste from the Joel on Software Blog.
I just finished reading "Smart and Gets Things Done" by the same author and about a quarter of that book is in here.
What a waste of money! If you think this guy has good ideas, save your money and read the blog instead.
I felt ripped off buying this book after just reading "Smart and Gets Thinks Done" as it's a cut and paste from that book into this one.
Worth Rereading 2008-08-07
Since I've been reading joelonsoftware for the past two years, a lot of this was already familiar to me, but it was well worth rereading. Some of the essays were old enough and I hadn't come by links to them so they were new to me, but not many. Most of the first part Managing People was already published in Joel's Smart and Gets Things Done.
Anyone even considering working on shrink-wrap software, especially in a small company, should read this book. (Anyone considering consultingware should especially read the last chapter; it will convince you not to, unless you are a masochist.)
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