Technology Review has an interview with the father of C++. Some notable quotes:

• There has to be languages for those experts to use--and C++ is one of those languages.
• I want elegant and efficient code. Sometimes I get it. These dichotomies (between efficiency versus correctness, efficiency versus programmer time, efficiency versus high-level, et cetera.) are bogus.
• There are just two kinds of languages: the ones everybody complains about and the ones nobody uses.
• The main reason for C++'s success is simply that it meets its limited design aims: it can express a huge range of ideas directly and efficiently. C++ was not designed to do just one thing really well or to prevent people doing things considered "bad." Instead, I concentrated on generality and performance.

Read the whole thing!

Kate