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I want to recommend a book…
… it’s a autobiography.
Well, actually, no. It isn’t a biography, it’s more a book of recollections.
Er, no… that’s not right. It’s not recollections, it’s a textbook.
Sorry, no. Let me start again.
It’s not a textbook. It’s an information book… but not exclusively. It’s a book of opinions but with some forecasts thrown in.
It has to be said the book has one or two; ‘I-told-you-so moments’. Even that doesn’t do it justice. It’s a book that lets you into some secrets and a peep behind the curtain.
In some respects its a travelog. At the heart of it is a treaties on the family and family life.
If you enjoy sailing... it's for you.
It's a thriller with shady characters and conmen. It’s a paean to the truth and a confessional.
Perhaps it’s a book of philosophy… but that’s too highbrow. It’s a book of common sense.
It is a big book, 474 pages and it weighs a tonne. It’s a stout and sturdy book… a bit like it’s author.
It’s the sort of book that if the upright piano in the pub developed a wobble, you could slide it underneath to shore it up, so the pints could be safely lined-up without fear of spillage.
I guess it is a book of commentary.
Picking up on the times...
... it goes back to April 2012 and column by column, essay by essay, step by step it takes us through the life and times and thoughts and writings of Professor Joe MacDonald, the curator and creator, of this masterpiece.
MacDonald is the doyen of all things IT in the NHS. He dates back to the abacus (not quite) and takes us on a journey, via his regular columns, through the chequered history of an NHS, trying to drag itself out of the paper and pencil era.
He is the guru's guru. The go-to. The sage. The Methuselah. A living lexicon of computing and software, how-to and most important... how-not.
He charts the disasters and the successes. In column after column of readable, fast paced writing which at times is as lyrical and romantic as a bunch of roses. On other occasions it's as brutal as a bunch of fives in yer face.
If IT isn’t your thing, read this book because it is about human nature and exotic places around the world.
If IT is your thing, read this book because it will guide the decisions you will be asked to make tomorrow, next year and for the rest of your career. It’s a book that shouts; ‘don’t make the same mistakes twice’.
McDonald is generous with his praise, his thoughts, his failings and his wrath.
If you are a boss of a company, the purveyor IT, software, hardware, vapourware, artificial intelligence, machine learning or flogging anything that plugs-in, you should buy a copy of this book for your entire sales force.
You and they, will learn things… like the importance of making stuff that actually works and adds value… not pains in the derrière because you need a Phd to work it.
The book is called FHIR and Loathing in Las Vegas (if you know you now) and is available from Amazon, free as a Kindle download.
It’s ideal for the journey to and from work because the book is a collection of over a hundred columns, none of which is longer than three or four pages…
… Prof Joe is the sushi-chef of reflection; slicing a dicing his thoughts and recollections. His advice, his successes, his failures, his humour and the sad times that are part of all our lives.
This book adds value. When you are done reading this opus you can use it to wedge the door open on a summer’s day...
… but really… this wonderful, insightful, thought provoking and funny book belongs on your desk, in arms reach, to delve into, to read again and to quote from… copiously.
If you are unsure if it's for you, I will leave you with the final words, on the final page. The Prof writes;
‘…all massively funded IT projects are doomed to failure… if you pay billions for clinical software, you’re a £^@%!”$ idiot.
Enjoy… I did.
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