_Showstopper_ One of the best tech books, after _Soul of a New Machine_ (recommended in the comments, too). Covers Microsoft's creation of Windows NT. _DEC is Dead. Long Live DEC_ about the rise and fall of Digital Equipment Corporation. _Skunkworks_ Lockheed-Martin's creation of the SR-71. _Moneyball_ using math to build a top flight US baseball team. Broadening the category a bit: _The Smartest Guys in the Room_ is about Enron's collapse. Not directly related to computer tech but definitely tech and people. _Billion Dollar Lessons_ covers several spectacular company failures. Again, not strictly tech related but amazing stories of crash & burn. Includes (IIRC) Iridium, Kodak, IBM.
Also recommended in this reply
- The Soul of a New Machine
- Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years at Lockheed
- Showstopper!: The Breakneck Race to Create Windows NT and the Next Generation at Microsoft
- The Smartest Guys in the Room
- Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game
- Billion Dollar Lessons: What You Can Learn from the Most Inexcusable Business Failures of the Last 25 Years