Showstopper the breakneck race to create windows nt and the next generation at microsoft

Customers say

Customers find the book engaging, with one noting it gets better with each reading. Moreover, the information quality receives positive feedback, with one customer describing it as a valuable piece of tech history that provides great insight into operating system creation. Additionally, the story is interesting, and customers appreciate the inside look at Microsoft. However, the writing quality and sturdiness receive mixed reviews — while some find it well written and in excellent condition, others note it’s rife with typos, and one customer mentions the paper will crumble in a few years.

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• 5.0 out of 5 stars

  Creation of NT, the bedrock for all that followed.

  Reviewed in the United States on April 26, 2024

  This book was an amazing read to me as I lived (and worked in IT) through the years described with Microsoft and Windows products. Though I never directly bought or used NT, I learned it was the big «Monster» that lead to all the major releases of Windows that followed to this day. To be able to relive its creation and meet the major players that made it happen was enchanting to me. I had to look up David Cutler and I was happy to see he is doing well. Great book, great story.
  

• 4.0 out of 5 stars

  An interesting, though not particularly well written, account

  Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2019

  As a historical account the book is interesting, but if you are looking for ground-breaking management insights you might be disappointed. Also, as other reviewers have pointed out, it’s a bit repetitive and would have benefited from tighter editing. Still, it’s a valuable piece of tech history and while I’m not much of a Windows user, after reading this book my respect for NT has increased enormously.
  

  
  

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• 5.0 out of 5 stars

  Great content, generous opinion of condition.

  Reviewed in the United States on November 19, 2012

  The content of the book was excellent, thoroughly enjoyable to anybody with experience and memories of the history of Windows. A fascinating insight into the personality of Microsoft. I can’t remember who my used copy came from, but it was described as having a few visible marks and a slight tear on the cover. The page upon page of margin notes, highlighted sections, indeterminable and alarming stains, and split spine were somehow overlooked when the description of the condition was submitted.
  

• 3.0 out of 5 stars

  A quick but shallow read, muddled by typos

  Reviewed in the United States on May 27, 2012

  This book was originally written in 1994 and reissued in 2008 with a new «Afterward» that provides a bit of the story after NT shipped. That new afterward mostly chides Microsoft for coming late to Internet and mobile software without mentioning the fact that Windows NT went on to become the underpinning of all of Microsoft’s OS projects with Win2k.

  As for the rest of the book, there are shortcomings in both the prose and the production. In terms of the prose— it’s simply hard to sum up a 5 year project in a book of this size, particularly if your goal is to cover the project from the perspective of multiple participants. The book never dives very deep and its characters are mostly reduced to cardboard cutouts who replay their roles chapter after chapter. Having said that, this is one of the very few books about Microsoft that includes significant participation on the part of the actual people involved, so it’s worth a read on that front.

  In terms of the production— the 2008 reissue of this book is rife with blatant typos (one or more per page) and formatting problems. My guess is that the original manuscript was lost and the new book was generated by optical character recognition of a printed copy of the original book. For whatever reason, the new printing itself is problematic— rather than the smooth fonts normally seen on all modern printed pages, the dots making up each of the printed characters is visible, as if this new version were printed on a dot matrix printer from the book’s original era. The printing issues are surprisingly distracting.

  
  

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• 4.0 out of 5 stars

  Apple, IBM, Microsoft, the story of competiton.

  Reviewed in the United States on December 2, 2013

  This book gets better with every reading. even the updated comment by the author was a pleasant surprise. Having grown with the industry, attending lots of computer meetings and computer shows in the early and late 80’s I find Showstopper brings back many very pleasant memories.
  For the newer computer enthusiasts the book should be very interesting and fun.
  Most of all there is a clear illustration of just how brilliant Gates and his people were then, a trend they clearly have maintained inspite of some very determined efforts against them.
  Great read.
  

• 5.0 out of 5 stars

  What everybody else said and «WOW» to go along with it

  Reviewed in the United States on March 28, 2009

  I must say, I just finished this book and it was fantastic. From the consumer side, I have sat and wondered many times what happens during the production of an OS. I remember the drum beat running up to Win ’95 and I guess that will be the next one I hunt down. This book is a HISTORICAL DRAMA. If you didn’t know the outcome you would be held in suspense! At times, I had to remind myself that it DID SHIP!

  The David Cutler part of the story is enthralling. Since he is so reclusive, it is remarkable that he would even be interviewed. In the back of the book it list who was interviewed and it must have been his children and ex-wife(s) in the list. Eventually, a biography of Cutler (whether authorized or not) would be a fantastic gift to the community.

  Congrats to the author on a fantastic read. I fully recommend it. But, it left me with a question that may never be able to be answered: If a project such as this were to be taken on today with modern programming tools (IDE, Internet, ect, ect) how long would it have taken and how much better/worse would the end product have been? If you take Microsoft’s new approach to Visual Studio, the team approach, you might would think they built a product like that because of what they learned in projects such as NT. How many project hit brick walls, like Cairo, or as mentioned in the book «Microsoft’s first in house build from scratch database system.» This is just two projects that fell to the cutting room floor. How many more could there have been that would have «made it» to «ship mode» if modern tools and communications were introduced?

  
  

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• 5.0 out of 5 stars

  High-Tech Thriller or Business Book?

  Reviewed in the United States on July 3, 2011

  Disclosure: I am a former Microsoft employee and do know some of the individuals named in this book personally.

  I first read this book in 1995 and have raced about it ever since. This is on the surface a business book on one of the biggest software projects in recent memory. However Zachary’s treatment of the main people in the project gives a bigger insight into the the personal sacrifices that were made to bring Windows NT to market.

  Even though I though I KNEW the real story, this book gave me a new perspective and greater respect for those involved. Honestly, I could not put it down.

  
  

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