The Mythical Man-Month
8 people have this book on the record — 7 of 8 verdicts positive. The dissent stays on the page.
First, Refactoring, Domain-Driven Design, and the Pragmatic Programmer are all classics for a reason. Amazing books, and mandatory reads. Working Effectively with Legacy Code deserves all its praise, and of course everyone (yes, really) should check out the Mythical Man-Month.
on adamtornhill.substack.com · 11 Aug 2026 · Report
This point of view has been a strong influence upon my career, the pursuit of conceptual integrity underpins much of my work. The anniversary edition of this book is the one to get, because it also includes his even-more influential 1986 essay “No Silver Bullet”.
on martinfowler.com · 5 May 2026 · Report
If you could only read one computer science book, this would be it. Almost fifty years old, it’s as relevant as ever. I promise you’ll nod your head as Brooks skewers mistakes that engineering leaders continue to make to this day.
on bringthedonuts.com · 7 Jan 2026 · Report
The Mythical Man-Month - Frederick P. Brooks (Addison-Wesley, 1995/1975)
on brendangregg.com · 24 May 2025 · Report
The first professional book I ever read, opening my eyes to the wealth of software engineering literature waiting out there.
on lethain.com · 24 Jul 2018 · Report
The amazing thing about The Mythical Man Month is that it doesn't feel dated, even though it was first published in 1975. Instead it simply feels like a group of programmers discussing the very same challenges the industry has today, with just different technology in use.
on philipotoole.com · 25 Nov 2016 · Report
A very old book about the practice of software development. Interesting both how much and how little has changed since the 70s.
on radex.io · 1 Jan 2015 · Report
I challenge any developer to pick up a copy of The Mythical Man Month and not find this tale of a long-defunct OS, and the long-defunct team that developed it, startlingly relevant.
on blog.codinghorror.com · 2 Feb 2004 · Report