I sent a small note to the software-testing Yahoo! group asking, “What are some iconic books in software testing that paint a good picture of its history?” I got a huge response, and figured it’d be beneficial to others to duplicate it here.

(I’d link to the thread if there was a public archive, but you must be a member of the software-testing list to see it. Email me personally if you’re interested in joining.)

The list:

• Weinberg, “Fundamentals of Computer Programming (1961)” (Read chapter on testing. Whoohoo! I got the last one!)
• Hetzel, “Program Test Methods (1972)” (Looks like I got the last of this one too!)
• Myers, “The Art of Software Testing (1979)” (This one’s in the mail; it looks like they’re out now, though I remember a different URL…)
• Beizer, “Software System Testing and Quality Assurance (1984)”
• Kaner, “Testing Computer Software, 1st Edition (1988)”
• Beizer, “Software Testing Techniques, 2nd Edition (1990)” (Was recommended the first edition as well, though can’t find info on it.)
• Marick, “The Craft of Software Testing: … (1994)”
• Beizer, “Black Box Testing: … (1995)”
• Schulmeyer, Mcmanus, “Handbook of Software Quality Assurance, 3rd Edition (1998)”
• Kaner, Falk, Nguyen, “Testing Computer Software, 2nd Edition (1999)”
• Kaner, Bach, Pettichord, “Lessons Learned in Software Testing (2001)”
• Weinberg, “An Introduction to General Systems Thinking (2001)” (This book was written much earlier, though it was republished in 2001. I’ve linked to the 2001 version since I can’t find information on the original version.)
• Jorgensen, “Software Testing: A Craftsman’s Approach (2002)”
• Copeland, “A Practitioner’s Guide to Test Case Design (2004)”

This is a daunting list. Some of these — wink, wink — I was supposed to read fully in college. I can’t honestly say I did that, so I’m going to go back to them now.

Just a note: I get the impression some of these books contain ideas that are “obselete” or “out of date,” and may not be directly helpful today. This is a history lesson, and I’m specifically interested in how the thoughts in the industry have changed.

Thanks all for the responses, and I hope the reading list is beneficial to others.