10 Must-Read Books For IT Pros This Summer
Dive into a page-turner on how Google was built, the power of introverts, or how the Internet is killing our capacity for deep thought.
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How many hours per day do you spend staring at a screen?
Think about it. Digital interaction likely starts with checking email early in the morning and extends throughout a busy workday of more emailing, typing up documents, filling in spreadsheets, monitoring dashboards, and taking notes during meetings. And I doubt you put your screens away when you go home.
Maybe this summer would be a good time to put aside your smartphones, laptops, and tablets in favor of a book. Not a Kindle or another e-reader but a real, paper-and-ink book that you can take to the beach without fear of dripping water on it.
[ How do your non-technical skills stack up? Read: New IT Skills: Why Communication, Accountability, Initiative Are Hot Now.]
In the wide world of literature, there are plenty of titles written for the tech-minded reader. There are books that draw upon lessons learned by Google executives as they built their empire, explain strategies in maintaining employee happiness, and predict the future of human thinking in the Internet age.
There are countless biographies that tell the stories of tech legends like Steve Jobs, as well as the tales of lesser-known geniuses who built the Internet and the computers it runs on. In modern topics, there are books that explore the potential for big data and how it could reveal previously unknown insights on the human race.
Each of these aforementioned topics is the subject of one of these 10 books, our recommended reads for tech pros like you.
If you're in the mood for a page-turner, check out our list for some ideas. If you've read any of these titles, or have one to add, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below.
[Did you miss any of the InformationWeek conference in Las Vegas last month? Don't worry: We have you covered. Check out what our speakers had to say and see tweets from the show. Let's keep the conversation going.]
Authors: Eric Schmidt, Jonathan Rosenberg
You know what Google is, but do you know how it came to be? Executive chairman and ex-CEO Eric Schmidt and former SVP of products Jonathan Rosenberg both do. The duo arrived at Google as seasoned tech execs and participated in the growth that made it the force it is today.
Working at Google challenged Schmidt and Rosenberg to alter their leadership strategies and embrace its founders' different ways of thinking. This book is a compilation of the lessons they learned along the way, on topics including technology, corporate culture, decision-making, communication, and handling the disruption that comes with working in an industry punctuated by constant change. They learned that success in technology not only comes from creating innovative products, but also hiring "smart creative" employees. The book includes stories from insiders at Google, many of which are published here for the first time.
Author: Walter Isaacson
This comprehensive biography of Apple's famed leader is based on more than 40 interviews with Jobs and more than 100 of his family members, friends, colleagues and competitors, conducted over the span of two years. It's long -- almost 600 pages -- but its size is necessary to fully expound on Jobs' life, the work he did, and his perspective on the world, as well as what it would have been like to work with him. Isaacson gives us a sense of Jobs' life and accomplishments, alongside lessons about innovation, leadership, and character.
Author: Susan Cain
Tech pros are widely perceived as quiet individuals who tend to keep to themselves. This book draws attention to what Cain calls the Extrovert Ideal that has been perpetuated in the workplace throughout the years, and how this mindset dismisses the value introverts bring to the table.
Cain showcases the accomplishments of successful introverts, from Dr. Seuss to Steve Wozniak, and argues that these individuals' inherent creativity and capacity for quiet have led to some of the greatest contributions to society. "Introverts are to extroverts what women were to men [in 1963]," Cain claims, and "the bias against introversion leads to a colossal waste of talent, energy, and, ultimately, happiness."
If you are an introvert, this book will leave you feeling empowered and validated. If you're not an introvert, this read will help you appreciate -- and communicate with -- your friends, family members, and colleagues who are.
Author: Nicholas Carr
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For example, in contrast to paper books, which provoke thought in their focus on singular topics, the Internet facilitates a rapid and random sampling of distinct bits of information. Human brains have been shaped by different tools over time, Carr explains -- what will the Internet do to ours? We might be better at skimming documents and multi-tasking, but are we losing our ability to deeply concentrate?
The Shallows probably won't inspire you to toss your PC, but it will make you think -- and maybe spend more time away from a screen.
Author: Walter Isaacson
The same man who penned the aforementioned Steve Jobs biography wrote this story of the people who built the computer and the Internet.
Author: Malcolm Gladwell
Maybe if we want to be successful, we should pay less attention to what successful people are like, and more attention to the backgrounds that made them who they are.
This is what Gladwell argues in Outliers, an exploration of what sets high-achievers apart. The best technology professionals, bands, math whizzes, and athletes were not born into success. Each of society's best and brightest individuals has developed as the result of a unique family, culture, generation, and breadth of experiences which afforded them the opportunities to learn and work. Gladwell's book not only provides some useful bits of trivia -- like why most professional hockey players are born in January and how a history of rice farming has helped Asian children become brilliant at math -- but delves into how privilege makes a difference in one's societal experience.
Authors: Katie Hafner and Matthew Lyon
There are countless people surfing the Web as you read this, and there's a good chance that none of them are thinking about who built it. In Where Wizards Stay Up Late, spouses Hafner and Lyon tell the story of how MIT's J.C.R. Licklider used Defense Department funds and teamed with a group of young geniuses to create a global network of computers. It describes and credits the men (because technology was even less diverse back then), universities, agencies, and software that helped them along the way.
Author: Christian Rudder
Rudder explores the potential for using big data to uncover truths about who we are. In an age where the Internet is saturated with personal data, what can data scientists learn about the human race?
It's no longer necessary to conduct small-scale surveys and experiments to learn about how humans think and act. With the Internet, scientists have all of the information they need in overwhelming quantities. Rudder describes how Facebook "likes" can accurately reveal a person's intelligence and sexual orientation, how young people express themselves publicly and privately, and how the most detested word in America can be revealed via Google Search. As you may expect, he also explores the challenges of information privacy at a time when this type of research can be performed.
Author: Tony Hsieh
Managing employees is hard. Managing employees and keeping them happy is harder. Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh shares how he used corporate culture to drive business results through a variety of questionable means, including paying brand-new workers $2,000 to quit. His book contains work and life lessons that proved effective -- the online retailer rakes in more than $1 billion in annual gross merchandise sales. A good read whether you're looking to boost happiness among your employees, or within yourself.
Author: Robert X. Cringely
Balancing humor and history, Cringley describes the rise of computer manufacturing and the strange personalities that drove its progress. His book gives us an entertaining perspective on the quirks and manias of geniuses like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, alongside a more serious explanation of the incredible technology they inspired and created. Cringely manages to balance industry gossip with genuine appreciation for the minds that built the computer empire.
Author: Robert X. Cringely
Balancing humor and history, Cringley describes the rise of computer manufacturing and the strange personalities that drove its progress. His book gives us an entertaining perspective on the quirks and manias of geniuses like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, alongside a more serious explanation of the incredible technology they inspired and created. Cringely manages to balance industry gossip with genuine appreciation for the minds that built the computer empire.
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