From Airline Reservations to Sonic the Hedgehog

From its first glimmerings in the 1950s, the software industry has evolved to become the fourth largest industrial sector of the US economy. Starting with a handful of software contractors who produced specialized programs for the few existing machines, the industry grew to include producers of corporate software packages and then makers of mass-market products and recreational software. This book tells the story of each of these types of firm, focusing on the products they developed, the business models they followed, and the markets they served.

By describing the breadth of this industry, Martin Campbell-Kelly corrects the popular misconception that one firm is at the center of the software universe. He also tells the story of lucrative software products such as IBM's CICS and SAP's R/3, which, though little known to the general public, lie at the heart of today's information infrastructure.

With its wealth of industry data and its thoughtful judgments, this book will become a starting point for all future investigations of this fundamental component of computer history.

1. The Software Industry
2. Origins of the Software Contractor, the 1950s
3. Programming Services, the 1960s
4. Origins of the Software Products Industry, 1965-1970
5. The Shaping of the Software Products Industry, the 1970s
6. The Maturing of the Corporate Software Products Industry, 1980-1995
7. Early Development of the Personal Computer Software Industry, 1975-1983
8. Not Only Microsoft: The Maturing of the Personal Computer Software Industry, 1983-1995
9. Home and Recreational Software
10. Reflections on the Success of the US Software Industry

An interesting viewpoint (even though it contains some errors of both fact and logic)

But overall, it is probably the best book on the subject as of now (2008), even though it mostly addresses the US software industry. And as the authors acknowledge that a number of things are based on his own preconceptions, I believe that some small errors and logic fallacies can be forgiven, as the author doesn't try to teach us that his "history" is the correct one (even though I agree with most of it).

An enjoyable book for the IT and history buffs out there, but absolutely not something for the commoner.