onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/Eric_Muellers_Favorite_Technology_Books/Microserfs');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0060987049'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">Microserfs

by Douglas Coupland

This is a novel about a group of engineers that work at Microsoft. It completely captures the engineer mentality and along the way, hey, Coupland wove together a great little novel. After you read this, move on to JPod (below)...

onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/Eric_Muellers_Favorite_Technology_Books/Microserfs');" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;"> onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/Eric_Muellers_Favorite_Technology_Books/Microserfs');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0060987049'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;"> 384 page paperback |$11.90 |211 reviews

onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/Eric_Muellers_Favorite_Technology_Books/JPod');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0747585873'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">JPod

by Douglas Coupland

Sort of like Microserfs (above), but instead of engineers at Microsoft, this is a folks at a large gaming company (think: EA). As one reviewer put it, "so amazingly accurate"; another said "completely captures the culture of the gaming industry" -- and I couldn't agree more.

onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/Eric_Muellers_Favorite_Technology_Books/JPod');" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;"> onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/Eric_Muellers_Favorite_Technology_Books/JPod');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0747585873'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;"> 576 page paperback |$11.85 |78 reviews

onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/Eric_Muellers_Favorite_Technology_Books/Boo_Hoo_135_Million_18_Months_a_DotCom_Story_from_Concept_to_Catastrophe');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0099418371'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">Boo Hoo: $135 Million, 18 Months... a Dot.Com Story from Concept to Catastrophe

by Ernst Malmsten, Erik Portanger, Charles Drazin

This is one of my absolute favorite books about startups-- I distinctly remember checking out boo.com (a site to sell high fashion) soon after it launched and thinking "wow, this is one of the worst web sites I've ever seen." Well, wait until you read the story of the narcissistic founders, the insane amount of money they burned through, the crazy parties... it's really beyond belief. A terrific snapshot of the absolute peak of the Internet bubble.

onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/Eric_Muellers_Favorite_Technology_Books/Boo_Hoo_135_Million_18_Months_a_DotCom_Story_from_Concept_to_Catastrophe');" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;"> onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/Eric_Muellers_Favorite_Technology_Books/Boo_Hoo_135_Million_18_Months_a_DotCom_Story_from_Concept_to_Catastrophe');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0099418371'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;"> 385 page paperback |$4.22 |5 reviews

onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/Eric_Muellers_Favorite_Technology_Books/Selling_the_Dream');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0887306004'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">Selling the Dream

by Guy Kawasaki

Guy Kawasaki pretty much invented evangelism and he's a large reason why the Mac survived its rocky launch. A great book about the introduction of the Macintosh and why evangelism matters.

onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/Eric_Muellers_Favorite_Technology_Books/Selling_the_Dream');" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;"> onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/Eric_Muellers_Favorite_Technology_Books/Selling_the_Dream');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0887306004'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;"> 352 page paperback |$10.95 |17 reviews

onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/Eric_Muellers_Favorite_Technology_Books/Steve_Jobs_the_Journey_Is_the_Reward');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/155802378X'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">Steve Jobs, the Journey Is the Reward

by Jeffrey S. Young

This book is out of date (it was published in 1988), but that's why it's great... you get the story of Apple's golden years without the idol worship (or viciousness) that seems unavoidable in all the more recent Jobs biographies.

onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/Eric_Muellers_Favorite_Technology_Books/Steve_Jobs_the_Journey_Is_the_Reward');" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;"> onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/Eric_Muellers_Favorite_Technology_Books/Steve_Jobs_the_Journey_Is_the_Reward');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/155802378X'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;"> paperback |$0.01 |8 reviews

onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/Eric_Muellers_Favorite_Technology_Books/Hackers_Heroes_of_the_Computer_Revolution');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0141000511'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution

by Steven Levy

Steven Levy captures the essence of how computers went from mainframes to PCs by introducing us to a cast of amazing characters along the way. Just the section on the incredibly eccentric guys known as phone phreakers (people who "hacked" the phone system to make free phone calls and so much more) makes the whole book. Levy is a fantastic writer and makes even the driest subjects come alive.

onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/Eric_Muellers_Favorite_Technology_Books/Hackers_Heroes_of_the_Computer_Revolution');" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;"> onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/Eric_Muellers_Favorite_Technology_Books/Hackers_Heroes_of_the_Computer_Revolution');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0141000511'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;"> 464 page paperback |$10.88 |81 reviews

onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/Eric_Muellers_Favorite_Technology_Books/The_Nudist_on_the_Late_Shift_And_Other_True_Tales_of_Silicon_Valley');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0767906039'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">The Nudist on the Late Shift: And Other True Tales of Silicon Valley

by Po Bronson

Amazon says:
Po Bronson intends to capture the spirit of the Valley, leading us through a series of vignettes that takes us from a "near brush with sudden wealth" to a $400 million buyout; from life on the edge with a group of Java programmers to the plight of a futurist writer with the looming deadline for a 9,000-word article. Like Tracy Kidder's Soul of a New Machine, what makes Bronson's book work is a talent for narrative. He presents compelling stories about those who make it -- for example, Ben Chiu (Killerapp.com, C/NET) and Sabeer Bhatia (Hotmail) -- as well as those whom we'll never hear of again: the database salesman working on the "hockey stick" at the close of the quarter and the "kiss-ass entrepreneur" who's taken up COBOL programming to make ends meet.

onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/Eric_Muellers_Favorite_Technology_Books/The_Nudist_on_the_Late_Shift_And_Other_True_Tales_of_Silicon_Valley');" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;"> onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/Eric_Muellers_Favorite_Technology_Books/The_Nudist_on_the_Late_Shift_And_Other_True_Tales_of_Silicon_Valley');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0767906039'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;"> 288 page paperback |$0.01 |80 reviews

onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/Eric_Muellers_Favorite_Technology_Books/The_Soul_Of_A_New_Machine');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0316491977'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">The Soul Of A New Machine

by Tracy Kidder

Amazon says:
Tracy Kidder observed the engineers of Data General design and build a new 32-bit minicomputer in just one year. His thoughtful, prescient book, The Soul of a New Machine, tells stories of 35-year-old "veteran" engineers hiring recent college graduates and encouraging them to work harder and faster on complex and difficult projects, exploiting the youngsters' ignorance of normal scheduling processes while engendering a new kind of work ethic. From in-house political struggles to workers being permitted to tease management to marathon 24-hour work sessions, The Soul of a New Machine explores concepts that already seem familiar, even old-hat, less than 20 years later.

onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/Eric_Muellers_Favorite_Technology_Books/The_Soul_Of_A_New_Machine');" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;"> onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/Eric_Muellers_Favorite_Technology_Books/The_Soul_Of_A_New_Machine');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0316491977'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;"> 320 page paperback |$10.19 |55 reviews