So while staying in the rustic cabin in the mountains, I picked up the intriguing and informative little booklet tuned to my resting grey matter called:
Around the World in 100 Years, by Jean Fritz
I don't think it's in print anymore but it showed how early western explorers slowly opened up the world through progressively brave and sometimes cataclismic exploration into unknown territory. Basically, each explorer opened the way and simultaneously laid down the challenge for further exploration. It did a great job showing how long standing beliefs and lack of knowledge of unknown territories caused explorers to make assumptions that were sometimes way off base. In fact, some explorers desperately stuck to previous assumptions in spite of all indications to the contrary. For example, Christopher Columbus believed he had found the short cut to China even when all indications were clear that he'd found the Americas. It's a book tuned to 4th and 5th graders, but I still enjoyed it.
There's a remarkable similarity between the progression of early explorers and the progression of a new complex piece of software. I'll tell you about it sometime when I feel like boring you to tears...
Joel on Software, by Joel Spolsky
A former Microsoft employee, some of what Joel writes is quite familiar, especially the chapters discussing best practices etc. What's interesting is that Joel seems to have a grasp of what works and doesn't work at Microsoft and other software companies and has some great insights into managing software teams. As we're in the middle of a review cycle here at Microsoft, I especially appreciated his thoughts on that aspect of Microsoft. :)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1590593898/ref%3Dnosim/joelonsoftware/002-4709218-9192042