Rating: 

Structurally, the book is divided into three parts; an introductory section, a practices section and a section on mastery. Each part is wholly contained and may be read independently of the others. Although XP is the centerpiece of discussion, clearly Scrum and Lean also strongly influenced content.

There is so much to like about this book that a short review cannot do justice. But I do want to highlight sections of particular value.

To understand the maturity of your agile team, skip the Nokia test and head for the section entitled "Assess Your Agility". Though the test does lean towards measuring XP maturity, each question is carefully crafted to be a point of introspection for thoughtful readers.

The sections on risk and slack are the clearest, most compelling, descriptions I've ever read of the how and why of risk planning and mitigation in an agile project. If you've had difficulty with release planning because of inconsistent velocities, then Shore and Warden open their toolbox for you.

The case for pair programming, perhaps the most controversial of all XP practices, is built brick by brick into a foundational practice. I've not seen such an airtight argument before.

The section on refactoring, including a step-by-step walkthrough, opened my eyes. I thought I understood refactoring until I read this masterful presentation.

Many people confuse the terms "value" and "principle"; incorrectly using them interchangeably. In the mastery section, the authors distinguish the two, and explain how fundamental values lead to the adoption of guiding principles and then to the implementation of tangible practices.

Shore and Warden make a valuable contribution to agile literature with this book. I'm making a list of people I work with that need to read it.