YOURDON, Jennifer

PERSONAL: Daughter of Edward Yourdon (a software developer and writer). Education: Trinity College (Hartford, CT), B.A. (economics); graduate study at New York University.

ADDRESSES: Home—New York, NY. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Prentice Hall, 200 Old Tappan Rd., Old Tappan, NJ 07675.

CAREER: Financial analyst and author. Employed by a major investment bank.

WRITINGS:

(With Edward Yourdon) Time Bomb 2000! What theYear 2000 Computer Crisis Means to You!, Prentice Hall (Old Tappan, NJ), 1998.

(With Edward Yourdon and Peter G. Crane) The Y2KFinancial Survival Guide: Sound Investment Strategies throughout the Year 2000, Prentice Hall (Old Tappan, NJ), 2000.

SIDELIGHTS: Jennifer Yourdon began her work in financial analysis after studying economics at both Trinity College and New York University. In New York, she worked in research on Wall Street for several years, as well as with several major investment banks. Together with her father, prolific author and software developer Edward Yourdon, she drew on her financial expertise to co-write two books about the Year 2000 computer crisis that by the late 1990s was believed to be imminent due to a universal date-programming glitch. The father and daughter's first collaboration, Time Bomb 2000! What the Year 2000 Computer Crisis Means to You!, was published in 1998, and became a New York Times business best seller. In this book they set forth a scenario of what life would be like if computer experts were unable to fix the computer glitches expected to cause major problems when the date rolled around to 01-01-2000. Each of the book's chapters focus on a major problem area: jobs, utilities, the media, banking, food, and government.

While some reviewers were dismissive of Time Bomb 2000!, most critics found the book interesting and helpful. "The Yourdons' harrowing account of what life could be like if computers all shut down at once is both frightening and useful for the solutions it offers," noted Library Journal contributor Geoff Rotunno. Marge Murray, in a review for the AWM Newsletter, agreed on the book's usefulness. "It is a practical, balanced guide to a frightening problem which, for all its simplicity, is absolutely stunning in its complexity," the critic commented.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

AWM Newsletter, May-June 1998, Marge Murray, review of Time Bomb 2000! What the Year 2000 Computer Crisis Means to You!

Countryside & Small Stock Journal, September-October 1998, Al Doyle, review of Time Bomb 2000!, p. 94.

Library Journal, February 15, 1998, Geoff Rotunno, review of Time Bomb 2000!, p. 165.

ONLINE

Dr. Dobb's Electronic Review of Computer Books,http://www.ercb.com/ (December 9, 2004), review of Time Bomb 2000!*