软件乃是人类自以为最有把握，实则最难掌控的技术。本书作者罗森伯格对OSAF主持的Chandler项目进行田野调查，跟踪经年，试图借由Chandler的开发过程揭示软件开发中的一些根本性大问题。.
本书是讲一事，也是讲百千事；是写一软件，也是写百千软件；是写一群人，也是写百千万人。任何一个在软件领域稍有经验的技术人员看完本书，必掩卷长叹：做软件难。...

http://www.dreamingincode.com/
这本书讲述的是Chandler 这个软件的开发历程。 首先来介绍一下Chandler。Chandler(1) 是一个由Mitch Kapor(2) 领导的"信息管理软件"，如果这个名字听起来有些不着边际，不妨参照Wired 的说法，叫它"Outlook 杀手" (3) .
这个软件的开发在2002年就已经正式了， 但是现在还在 Alpha stage. 一个由像Mitch Kapor 这样的软件行业的传奇人物领导的团队为什么到现在还不能拿出一个相对完整的版本， 不得不让人好奇。
Scott 选择了这个项目来探讨为什么做一个好的软件那么难 ？
个人感觉，这本书也许有可能成为又一本软件工程的经典书目。
(1) http://chandler.osafoundation.org/
(2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitch_Kapor
(3) http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.01/start.html?pg=3

Our civilization runs on software. Yet the art of creating it continues to be a dark mystery, even to the experts. To find out why it’s so hard to bend computers to our will, Scott Rosenberg spent three years following a team of maverick software developers—led by Lotus 1-2-3 creator Mitch Kapor—designing a novel personal information manager meant to challenge market leader Microsoft Outlook. Their story takes us through a maze of abrupt
dead ends and exhilarating breakthroughs as they wrestle not only with the abstraction of code, but with the unpredictability of human behavior— especially their own.

Their story takes us through a maze of dead ends and exhilarating breakthroughs as they and their colleagues wrestle not only with the abstraction of code but with the unpredictability of human behavior, especially their own. Along the way, we encounter black holes, turtles, snakes, dragons, axe-sharpening, and yak-shaving—and take a guided tour through the theories and methods, both brilliant and misguided, that litter the history of software development, from the famous ‘mythical man-month’ to Extreme Programming. Not just for technophiles but for anyone captivated by the drama of invention, Dreaming in Code offers a window into both the information age and the workings of the human mind.

Their story takes us through a maze of dead ends and exhilarating breakthroughs as they and their colleagues wrestle not only with the abstraction of code but with the unpredictability of human behavior, especially their own. Along the way, we encounter black holes, turtles, snakes, dragons, axe-sharpening, and yak-shaving—and take a guided tour through the theories and methods, both brilliant and misguided, that litter the history of software development, from the famous “mythical man-month” to Extreme Programming. Not just for technophiles but for anyone captivated by the drama of invention, Dreaming in Code offers a window into both the information age and the workings of the human mind.From the Hardcover edition.