Customer Reviews

Asunder: An Unauthorized History of the Origins of Java Programming Language

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

This is a badly written book by two people who are apparently proud of stabbing a naive executive in the back instead of attempting to rally the staff to solve his problems. They rationalize their actions as necessary to "save" Java and paint themselves as adept politicians whose inspiration is Lawrence of Arabia. Benedict Arnold would be a more accurate portrayal.

I know many of the people in this book on a first name basis and I can tell you that the idea that these two saved Java is utter nonsense.

A poorly written, self-serving saga starring a human resources employee with visions of Arabia (and of getting on the glory train of Java) and a bit player at the outer edge of the technology, whose exaggerated roles are not supported by the more carefully written histories or accounts of the project. It is primarily useful in showing the corrosive effect of the Silicon Valley "success" machine on those who live there but can only watch from the edge.

Rich and Jos were bit players in a very complicated play with many stars and even more important supporting actors. Like survivors of the Titanic from steerage, they can write about the experience without having had any idea about the complex set of decisions which led to the sinking, nor having had any influence over the events.

For the authors to describe themselves as in any way the "saviors" of Java shows more hubris than any of the celebrated egomaniacs that clashed to bring Java to market.

The notion that a low level human resources generalist wielded the slightest influence on the course of that history is laughable.

Rich Stiller and Jos Marlowe were there at Sun Microsystems when James Gosling invented "Oak" and turned it into Java in 1993-95. This is a fascinating look at how Java nearly died when a software incubator set up to foster creative genius runs headlong into the realities of corporate life and organizational dynamics. Anyone working in today's "web time" environments and trying to pick up the pieces of the dot com "bust" of 2000 needs to read this book. It provides insights that can only be acquired from firsthand experience. Stiller and Marlowe were there, with Gosling, Bill Joy, Patrick Naughton, Wayne Rosing, and the other people who launched what has come to be a programming revolution. I found this book a compact gem and highly recommend it to anyone else who wants to crawl out of a foxhole and see a bit more of the world than the earth of a dusty today.

I loved this book. One of the few that had me taking notes. I particularly enjoyed the application of the principles of Lawrence to the problem at hand. I may be biased as I know both Rich and Jos, as well as several others. As an observer at the time, I can say that Rich definitely had a hand in how Java landed after it found itself tossed into the air.

This is one book I could not put down. It was very interesting and quite readable. I made the mistake of picking it up to try get sleepy again when I awoke in the middle of the night. Most any other book would have made me drowsy in no time, but "Assunder" I had to read through. Not only did I learn about the gestation of a new technology even more compelling than that described in "The Soul of a New Machine", but I was fasinated to learn so much about T. E. Lawrence and how his methods could be applied to a modern situation.

This appears to be a book that either you believe it and love it, or you disbelieve and hate it. I believe it. I too have known managers of the type Richard describes and have witnessed corporate antibodies reject breakthrough ideas. Like the Java development, the development of a new computer being described in "The Soul of a New Machine" required an unauthorized, underground movement by dedicated engineers to avoid rejection by the official coporate antibodies. The unorthodox method that Richard used to overcome these problems and save Java was fasinating, but not likely to be widely adopted. It requires too much self effacement for almost anyone capable and self confident enough to carry it off, and in the end the powers that be do not know your role in the success. Thus, there is no profit nor reward in it except self satisfaction. This is definitely not a primer for ambitious coporate ladder climbers.

Asunder is a strange book. Don't misunderstand me, it is a "good" book. It is tough to know if the story the book tells is true but when I read it, I hoped that it was because it gave me hope. Hope that important things don't always happen because someone with power decides to do something. I liked the idea that two unknowns, Stiller and Marlowe, may have had something to do with the saving of Java. I can't pass judgement on whether they really did or not. Sounds like only James Gosling would ever really know the answer to that question. Enjoyed the interplay between Lawrence of Arabia (the past) and FirstPerson (the present). Whether you believe the book or not, you should read it anyway. Would make a really offbeat movie.

One may easily get attracted to and then drawn into this book and read all of it as quickly as one can. It is this kind of book: it is hot. The history of Java is of high interest to many of us and this book is a little gem of background information.

Richard takes a rather subjective perspective, but how else could he be so frank and revealing? How else could the rest of us ever get such an unobstructed glimpse behind the curtain? We have to thank Richard and Jos for sharing their experiences and insights so openly with us.

The parallelism with the actions of Lawrence is fascinating and full of useful insights, no matter whether really constructed entirely before the fact or probably in part afterwards. Who cares? I recommend "Asunder" as an excellent further study on the subdiscipline of influence after reading "The 48 Laws of Power" by Joost Elffers and Robert Greene on the general topic.

Well, yes, at least locally, Richard's writing style is suboptimal (repetitive, incoherent, etc.), but this book is a must-read for its mere content.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. A wonderful true story of how historical events can be adapted to fulfill modern day goals. It demonstrates how a well thought out strategy can be implemented to influence those in power without their realization. This is truly a groundbreaking book that should be on your reading list.

As another person who was around when Oak and Green
were turning into Java, it would sure be nice if this
book reflected reality. But it doesn't. As others have
pointed out, the authors were nowhere near the coalface
when this gem was being mined.