'Self-Help for Programmers That Lead Programmers: A Guide to Herding Cats' is designed as a comprehensive guide to the management challenges of leading programmers. As the title indicates, this challenge is analogous to herding cats, a very difficult leadership task. Rainwater introduces the new manager to concepts that help encourage and facilitate adaptation to the leadership role. A study of the varieties of programmer personality traits helps the reader to understand how best to use his team for the job at hand, and why some individuals may be difficult to manage. This is followed by a look into the need to manage the manager, and how to accomplish this most personal task. Several chapters are devoted to the administrative aspects of the job, such as managing meetings, hiring and firing, and principles of organizing your job for success. The book also describes task management software built by the author, which is available for download when you own the book. A chapter is included on technical leadership, highlighting the importance of architecture, design, and code reviews, while illustrating the practical application of leadership principles. Rainwater also shows why things can go wrong for a leader and how to correct these problems as they arise. One chapter is devoted to the working relationship the manager has with his or her boss, and guides the manager into the correct way to respond to the pressures of software project deadlines. Numerous other topics are discussed that are a necessity for anyone seeking to manage the peopleware aspects of software development.