Andy Bytheway

This book is different to what you might expect, in at least four ways:  it is a long book, it is a very detailed book, it is essentially a chronology rather than thematic, and it is written from a very singular perspective.  Nevertheless, it held my attention (I worked in the same industry and in education over the same period), it has many shared touch-points (where many readers will say "yes, me too!"), it covers a complete career (that progresses steadily in a generally good direction), and it was written by a rare individual:  a woman who achieved seniority and international recognition in a male-dominated industry. Ann Moffat deals in great detail with early life in a poor and somewhat dysfunctional family, her early employment experiences, professional time in a unique and interesting software house in the UK, managerial adventures and adversaries in Australia, and love and sex with an unexpectedly large number of men (some of whom she married).  Her sweeping account might be from a single perspective, but it is an important contemporaneous record of life and business in the UK and Australia, over more than 60 years.  There are some minor issues if one is looking for a smooth reading experience.  There are typographical errors (exactly how much was "£10/6d" in the 1960s?) but they do not cause much pause;  also, the flow of the narrative is a little bumpy as she switches from one topic or issue to another (one moment on a cotton farm with a daughter, the next reporting on an important international industry conference).  But her life was clearly very bumpy, so why not? If you have worked in the IT, software and systems industries, or if you are a female business person who wants to compare experiences with the "glass ceiling", then you should read this book and take it for what it is:  an honest attempt to take stock of a unique life, and unique lived experiences.