This book treats many facets of our industry: social issues, programmers and careers, current and new technology, trends, future predictions, the Internet, Java, Microsoft, good-enough software, and even intelligent milk cartons and toothbrushes.

One might expect that a book covering so many topics would not be very useful, but that is not the case here. This book will provide an orienting perspective on all the above-mentioned issues, and more. The book should be read by anyone with a global interest in information technology.

Ed Yourdon states in his preface that "the discussion that follows is not intended to be a deep technical treatise." And it is not. But it is a book that, like his previous book Decline and Fall of the American Programmer, will be used as a textbook in college classes. It will invite discussion in CIOs' and managers' offices and, most importantly, will provoke programmers to debate issues while on their coffee breaks. Pick any chapter, read it, enjoy it, and expect to get ideas and be challenged.