Top Tech Books For 2003

Computerworld - Looking to give a technology book as a gift this year? Here are the most popular tech and IT management books so far this year, based on click-throughs on book links in stories here at Computerworld.com. To see a list of current IT best sellers, head to Amazon.com's Computer Top 50.
From Computerworld.com
The Innovator's Dilemma: The Revolutionary National Bestseller That Changed the Way We Do Business, recommended by columnist Timothy Witham in his March article "Five Things Every IT Manager Should Know About Linux." This book outlines how companies grapple with the emergence of less expensive technologies. These newcomers aren't always substantially better than existing ones, but they can save substantial money and time if adopted.
"Harvard professor Clayton M. Christensen demonstrates ... why outstanding companies that did everything right -- were in tune with the competition, listened to customers and invested aggressively in new technologies -- still lost their market leadership when confronted with disruptive changes in technology and market structure," according to the book's description on Amazon.
Black Ice: The Invisible Threat of Cyber-Terrorism, by Computerworld's own Dan Verton, who argues that the private sector is in a state of denial about the serious threat of cyberterrorism against power plants, telecommunications sites and other critical facilities. (The title comes from the code name for a 2002 Winter Olympics emergency planning exercise.) "The examples Verton unearths are certainly spooky," says a Washington Post review. "Genuine cyberterrorism will be as physical as a punch to the gut." (see book excerpt).
Extreme Programming Explained: Embrace Change, by Kent Beck, "provides an intriguing high-level overview of the author's Extreme Programming (XP) software development methodology," says the book's Amazon blurb.
Best Practices in Planning and Management Reporting, by David A.J. Axson. "For anyone who has questioned the value of the budget process, been frustrated at the inability to get good information quickly, wondered why so much time is spent developing forecasts that are always wrong, or been angered by the repeated failure of technology to deliver on its promises," according to the book flap (see book excerpt).
Leading Geeks: How to Manage and Lead the People Who Deliver Technology, by Paul Glen (see story and column). Glen "draws on his experience to present clear and simple techniques for employers to not just get what they need out of tech workers but to become the kind of managers who will mesh well with this new kind of employee," says Publishers Weekly. "Glen's insight is to treat high technology as a creative product produced by temperamental people who are a cross between artists and professionals."
Other top book links on Computerworld.com this year:

• Principles of the Business Rule Approach, by Ronald G. Ross (see excerpt)


• XML, Web Services, and the Data Revolution, by Frank P. Coyle (see excerpt)


• The CRM Project Management Handbook: Building Realistic Expectations and Managing Risk, by Michael Gentle (see excerpt)


• Guide to Linux Installation and Administration, by Nicholas Wells


• Agile Software Development with Scrum, by Ken Schwaber and Mike Beedle


• The CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer Security, by Ronald L. Krutz, Russell Dean Vines and Edward M. Stroz


• Debugging: The 9 Indispensable Rules for Finding Even the Most Elusive Software and Hardware Problems, by David J. Agans (see excerpt)


• PHP and MySQL Web Development, by Luke Welling and Laura Thomson (see excerpt)


• Essentials of Supply Chain Management, by Michael Hugos (see excerpt)

• Mastering Windows XP Professional, by Mark Minasi


• Microsoft Windows XP Inside Out, by Ed Bott and Carl Siechert


• Adobe Photoshop 6.0 Classroom in a Book, by Adobe


• Homepage Usability: 50 Websites Deconstructed, by Jakob Nielsen and Marie Tahir