Includes bibliographical references and index.

In the essays, the author blends on software engineering with his own personal opinions and the opinions of others involved in building complex computer systems. He not only gives the reader the benefit of the lessons he has learned from the OS. 360 experience, but he writes about them in an extremely readable and entertaining way. Preface -- The tar pit -- The mythical man-month -- The surgical team -- Aristocracy, democracy, and system design -- The second-system effect -- Passing the word -- Why did the Tower of Babel fail? -- Calling the shot -- Ten pounds in a five-pound sack -- The documentary hypothesis -- Plan to throw one away -- Sharp tools -- The whole and the parts -- Hatching a catastrophe -- The other face -- Epilogue.