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Ask HN: Best computer history book for curious teenager?

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Re: Ask HN: Best computer history book for curious teenager?

#11

Post by theodpHN »

Not a book but Paul Ford's epic (free!) 38,000 word "What is Code?" essay in BusinessWeek's "The Code Issue" (2015) has a dose of history.

https://www.bloomberg.com/company/press/bloomberg-businesswe...

https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2015-paul-ford-what-is-co...

Re: Ask HN: Best computer history book for curious teenager?

#12

Post by theodpHN »

Someone else already mentioned, "Hackers" by Steven Levy, which was great. Levy's "Insanely Great: The Life and Times of Macintosh, the Computer that Changed Everything" was also a vey good read (and only $4.99 for Kindle edition!).

https://www.amazon.com/Insanely-Great-Macintosh-Computer-Eve...

And not sure how well it's aged, but I remember "Accidental Empires: How the Boys of Silicon Valley Make Their Millions, Battle Foreign Competition, and Still Can't Get a Date" was a fun, breezy read.

https://www.amazon.com/Accidental-Empires-Silicon-Millions-C...

Re: Ask HN: Best computer history book for curious teenager?

#13

Post by timal »

Fire in the Valley is the best computer history book I've read. It covers the very early history of the Altair (Hardware) and Bill Gates writing a version of Basic for it (Software). I would say it stops in the 90s since I've only read the first edition but apparently there are two more editions out now that cover events through Steve Jobs death. I think I'm due for a rereading.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1937785769/ref=dp_ob_neva_mob...

Re: Ask HN: Best computer history book for curious teenager?

#14

Post by marttt »

"The Cukoo's Egg: Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage" [1] by Clifford Stoll. The author's first-person account on tracking down a computer hacker as a sysadmin. This 1989 book was definitely influential to me as a teenager; first time close encounter with the idea that the world of computer networks can also be "scary".

@CliffStoll is also on HN. Fond memories; thanks again for writing that book!

1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cuckoo%27s_Egg_(book)

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