Book review: "Remote: Office Not Required" by David Heinemeier Hansson and Jason Fried
“Remote: Office Not Required” is a well-known publication among the programmers. So it must be a good book, or its popularity comes from the fact that two influential figures in software development wrote it. Maybe both? Even though I am late to the party because 11 years have passed since its release, I wanted to check it out. I was also wondering how the book that advocates for remote working holds up after the global pandemic in an age dominated by AI. Also, I bought it ages ago, and it finally popped out of my overflowed stack of books to read.
The book feels super dated nowadays, as most subjects described are considered general knowledge and standard practices. It is good because of what authors have been advocating for works. Thanks to the global pandemic that enforced more hybrid working practices on workers around the globe. I can only imagine how controversial a publication it was a decade ago.
My favourite part of the book was a chapter about a single point of failure, a common rule followed by system developers. The authors ideally compared this software paradigm to working from a single place, dependent on a single energy source and internet connection. I liked this analogy. I appreciate occasional reminders about social life, exercise, and other good brain hygiene—but again, this is widespread knowledge nowadays. The AI totally invalidated the chapter about the importance of the cover letter, though. Sometimes, the book feels too sales-y about the Basecamp products.