The reading list for my cryptography class included Simon Singh's Code Book, of which the professor said that "this is the book you can get your grandmother for Christmas to explain to her what we are doing here".
What is the best book (or film) to introduce non-programmers to what we are doing, and why we love it so much?
I like The Inmates Are Running the Asylum: Why High Tech Products Drive Us Crazy and How to Restore the Sanity by Alan Cooper.
I really like his description of cognitive friction as an explanation for why software can be so difficult. This book has a lot to do with user interface design and software complexity, but not much to do with actual programming. Filled with fun anecdotes, this is a great book for the non-programmer.
Psychology of a Computer Programmer by Weinberg is a great read, better at the actual explanation of programming, but hardly what I expect Grandma to sit down and read.
