Here are the preface, introduction, and table of contents of Joel's new book. The man who wins may have been counted out several times, but he didn't hear the referee. With courage you will dare to take risks, have the strength to be compassionate, and the wisdom to be humble. Courage is the foundation of integrity. Of all human types, the engineer is one of the most God-like.
Engineers design and make things of all kinds.
They seem to have an insatiable need to accomplish . They are not idealists, although their goals and aspirations may sometimes appear unreachable. But in today's world of chaotic complexity, it has become increasingly difficult to remain balanced, to remember who we are, and why we are here. I initially began writing my column, The Computer-Aided Engineer , because I noticed that engineers were having a surprising amount of difficulty adopting computer technologies. I worked closely with many types of engineers in my consulting, and had to be thoroughly familiar with the way they work and think in order to be able to advise them about software and hardware, as well as to be able to write numerous software and hardware reviews for various engineering periodicals.