waltzing-with-bears won the 2004 Jolt Award for best general computing book, the second Jolt Award for DeMarco and timothy-lister. The Jolt Awards, given by Dr. Dobb's Journal, recognized outstanding contributions to the software development field and were considered one of the most prestigious book awards in software engineering.
DeMarco had previously won the 1998 Jolt Award for the-deadline. The awards recognized both the literary and intellectual qualities of DeMarco's writing — his ability to present serious arguments about software management in accessible, engaging prose.