The Passionate Programmer

I’ve known Chad Fowler for almost ten years. He’s a seriously good guy: musician, developer, leader, and friend. So when he came to me some years ago with an idea for a book, I jumped at it. I was hoping for something good, but what we got was something truly great.

Andy and I wrote The Pragmatic Programmer over 10 years ago. It was a book full of advice on the job of programming, from low-level coding to teams and projects.

Well, Chad had written the companion book. Where our book looked outward at the job you were doing, The Passionate Programmer looked inward at the person doing the work. It’s a book about finding fulfillment in what you do. It’s a book about rekindling the fires that you felt when you first entered the profession. It’s a book about creating a career, rather than turning up for a job.

I was blown away.

And then I did something really stupid. The book came out about 5 years ago, and outsourcing was big on everyone’s mind. So I thought “let’s make a jokey title that’ll grab people’s attention.” I called the book My Job Went to India (And All I Got Was This Lousy book).  I’ve already blogged about how stupid that was—it was probably the single dumbest thing I’ve done since I got into publishing. The title put people off; it gave them the wrong idea. The book was really nothing to do with outsourcing, but you wouldn’t know it from the cover. This book deserved so much better

So, four years later, we revisited the book. Chad’s given it a spring cleaning, revising and updating it. And we gave it a new title and a new cover, both of which do a better job of conveying the energy and enthusiasm that lie within.

I’m not into selling: my philosophy with our books is “if they’re good, people will buy them.” But this book is different. I really think it can make a difference. So I’d love for you to read some extracts and maybe take this book home with you. I honestly think you’ll thank me (and, most importantly, Chad) if you do.