Want to know what books Steven Sinofsky recommends on their reading list? We've researched interviews, social media posts, podcasts, and articles to build a comprehensive list of Steven Sinofsky's favorite book recommendations of all time.
1
Emerson W. Pugh, Lyle R. Johnson, et al. | 4.31
No new product offering has had greater impact on the computer industrythan the IBM System/360. IBM's 360 and Early 370 Systems describes the creation ofthis remarkable system and the developments it spawned, including its successor, System/370. The authors tell how System/360's widely-copied architecture came intobeing and how IBM failed in an effort to replace it ten years later with a bolddevelopment effort called FS, the Future System. Along the way they detail thedevelopment of many computer innovations still in use, among them semiconductormemories, the cache, floppy disks, and... more No new product offering has had greater impact on the computer industrythan the IBM System/360. IBM's 360 and Early 370 Systems describes the creation ofthis remarkable system and the developments it spawned, including its successor, System/370. The authors tell how System/360's widely-copied architecture came intobeing and how IBM failed in an effort to replace it ten years later with a bolddevelopment effort called FS, the Future System. Along the way they detail thedevelopment of many computer innovations still in use, among them semiconductormemories, the cache, floppy disks, and Winchester disk files. They conclude bylooking at issues involved in managing research and development and striving forproduct leadership.While numerous anecdotal and fragmentary accounts of System/360and System/370 development exist, this is the first comprehensive account, a resultof research into IBM records, published reports, and interviews with over a hundredparticipants. Covering the period from about 1960 to 1975, it highlights suchimportant topics as the gamble on hybrid circuits, conception and achievement of aunified product line, memory and storage developments, software support, uniqueproblems at the high end of the line, monolithic integrated circuit developments, and the trend toward terminal-oriented systems.System/360 was developed during thetransition from discrete transistors to integrated circuits at the crucial time whenthe major source of IBM's revenue was changed from punched-card equipment toelectronic computer systems. As the authors point out, the key to the system'ssuccess was compatibility among its many models. So important was this to customersthat System/370 and its successors have remained compatible with System/360. Manycompanies in fact chose to develop and market their own 360-370 compatible systems.System/360 also spawned an entire industry dedicated to making plug-compatibleproducts for attachment to it.The authors, all affiliated with IBM Research, arecoauthors of IBM's Early Computers, a critically acclaimed technical historycovering the period before 1960. less 
Steven Sinofsky@fmbutt I love this book so much. If you watch "General Magic," reading this gives you an idea of the scope of invention in the 360 project.
The biggest difference is the massive gap in product-market fit between the two examples. The scope of 360 and expanse of success are unmatched. (Source)
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2
Steven Sinofsky@djpardis This is a fantastic book. CRM, document collaboration, video and photo creativity. As with CAD and Excel, these are examples of things that were out of reach of regular people and now represent “environments” in which people work and produce output. (Source)
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3
Examines our deepest notions of progress and perfection, tracing the fine connection between the quantifiable realm of science and the chaotic realities of everyday life. more Examines our deepest notions of progress and perfection, tracing the fine connection between the quantifiable realm of science and the chaotic realities of everyday life. less Steven Sinofsky@sriramk 2/2 My experience is the hardest thing for a new manager is dealing with failure (they made it to manager by not failing).
How to separate personal failure from direct report from systems.
That’s why I love this book: https://t.co/75I6WpHAId (Source)
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4
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... more 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. less Steven Sinofsky@AustenAllred Need to be sure you really need that thing--often only in the abstract is that true. There's a great lesson on that in the book "Dreaming In Code" (no matter the problem, calendaring for example, they were going to get an object-oriented database). https://t.co/oOxxikUT9i (Source)
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5
Steven Sinofsky21/ This is much more than something that can be done in recruiting. A super interesting book on "measuring performance in organizations" shows how in general hiring/recruiting is extremely tough to measure because of incentives. Strong recommend: https://t.co/KClA1RlncB (Source)
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6
The inside, lesser-known story of NASA's boldest and riskiest mission: Apollo 8, mankind's first journey to the Moon on Christmas in 1968. A riveting account of three heroic astronauts who took one of the most dangerous space flights ever, from the
New York Times
bestselling author of
Shadow Divers.
In early 1968, the Apollo program was on shaky footing. President Kennedy's end-of-decade deadline to put a man on the Moon was in jeopardy, and the Soviets were threatening to pull ahead in the space race. By... more
The inside, lesser-known story of NASA's boldest and riskiest mission: Apollo 8, mankind's first journey to the Moon on Christmas in 1968. A riveting account of three heroic astronauts who took one of the most dangerous space flights ever, from the
New York Times
bestselling author of
Shadow Divers.
In early 1968, the Apollo program was on shaky footing. President Kennedy's end-of-decade deadline to put a man on the Moon was in jeopardy, and the Soviets were threatening to pull ahead in the space race. By August 1968, with its back against the wall, NASA decided to scrap its usual methodical approach and shoot for the heavens. With just four months to prepare--a fraction of the normal time--the agency would send the first men in history to the Moon. In a year of historic violence and discord--the Tet offensive, the assassinations of MLK and RFK, the Chicago DNC riots--the Apollo 8 mission was the boldest test of what America could do. With a focus on astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and Bill Anders, and their wives and children, this is a vivid, gripping, you-are-there narrative that shows anew the epic danger involved, and the singular bravery it took, for man to leave Earth for the first time--and to arrive at a new world. less Steven SinofskyBooks, 2018 by @DeanHach https://t.co/OJTX8TT1xt // I'm partial to "Rocket Men" in this great book list. (Source)
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7
Steven Sinofsky@pkedrosky I *love* this book especially as one of those kids shipped from university in Mass to New Hampshire for the primary. Dixville Notch, 1988. I was there! (Source)
Michael Berry"Fightin Joey Biden" as Esquire's late, great Richard Ben-Cramer called him in his FANTASTIC book about the 88 race, What It Takes, with his former form saying Bernie "seems to have more inspiration in the Soviets, Sandinistas, Chavistas and Castro than in America." (Source)
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8
The 40-year story of the rise and fall of one of the pioneering companies of the computer age more The 40-year story of the rise and fall of one of the pioneering companies of the computer age less Steven Sinofsky@titterboy2 @pemullen @chrisfralic @RMB Love this book. DEC Is Dead, Long Live DEC: The Lasting Legacy of Digital Equiment Corporation https://t.co/ADDB7nFXFI (Source)
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