5 ms·

Ask HN: What are good books on Computer History/Lore/Iconic figures in Computing

6 points by Decabytes 3y ago

heartag 3y ago
Off the top of my head: Soul of a New Machine by Tracy Kidder - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Soul_of_a_New_Machine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Soul_of_a_New_Machine Dealers of Lightening - https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/1101290 https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/1101290 Cult of the Dead Cow - https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/42283862 https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/42283862 The Cuckoo's Egg - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cuckoo%27s_Egg_(book) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cuckoo%27s_Egg_(book)
- mindcrime 3y ago
  The Soul of a New Machine and The Cuckoo's Egg are essential! Can't recommend either highly enough. Still looking forward to reading Cult of the Dead Cow and Dealers of Lightning. Reading AlbertCory's book now, which appears to cover some of the same ground as "Dealers".
genericacct 3y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jargon_File https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jargon_File pretty sure you can find it online in 7 bit ASCII format
vclouder 3y ago
Fantastic book What the Dormouse Said: How the Sixties Counterculture Shaped the Personal Computer Industry - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/725789.What_the_Dormouse_Said https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/725789.What_the_Dormouse... Troublemakers: Silicon Valley's Coming of Age - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34467030-troublemakers https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34467030-troublemakers A Mind at Play: How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32919530-a-mind-at-play https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32919530-a-mind-at-play
mindcrime 3y ago
1. Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution - Steven Levy[1] 2. Inventing the Future - Albert Cory[2][3] 3. Cyberpunk: Outlaws and Hackers on the Computer Frontier - John Markoff and Katie Hafner[4][5] 4. Ghost in the Wires: My Adventures as the World's Most Wanted Hacker - Kevin Mitnick[6] 5. Not a book, but definitely consider watching "Halt & Catch Fire"[7] if you haven't seen it yet. It's an amazing show that deals with, loosely speaking, "the history of the computer industry". 6. Exploding the Phone: The Untold Story of the Teenagers and Outlaws Who Hacked Ma Bell - Phil Lapsley[8] [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hackers:_Heroes_of_the_Computer_Revolution https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hackers:_Heroes_of_the_Compute... [2]: https://www.amazon.com/Inventing-Future-Albert-Cory/dp/1736298615 https://www.amazon.com/Inventing-Future-Albert-Cory/dp/17362... [3]: Note that AlbertCory is an HN'er! https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28059246 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28059246 [4]: https://www.amazon.com/Cyberpunk-Outlaws-Hackers-Computer-Frontier/dp/0671683225 https://www.amazon.com/Cyberpunk-Outlaws-Hackers-Computer-Fr... [5]: Yes, I'm aware there are substantial question marks concerning the veracity of some of the information in this book, especially as it pertains to Mitnick. Nonetheless, I believe it's worth reading, but also suggest reading other books about Mitnick, including his autobiography, to get the other perspective [6]: https://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Wires-Adventures-Worlds-Wanted/dp/0316037729/ https://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Wires-Adventures-Worlds-Wanted/... [7]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halt_and_Catch_Fire_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halt_and_Catch_Fire_(TV_series... [8]: https://www.amazon.com/Exploding-Phone-Phil-Lapsley/dp/0802122280 https://www.amazon.com/Exploding-Phone-Phil-Lapsley/dp/08021...
mitchbob 3y ago
The Dream Machine: J.C.R. Licklider and the Revolution That Made Computing Personal is a great read. The recent Stripe Press reissue [1] includes some of J.C.R. Licklider's writings at the end, a nice bonus. [1] https://press.stripe.com/the-dream-machine https://press.stripe.com/the-dream-machine
mitchbob 3y ago
Turing's Cathedral: The Origins of the Digital Universe by George Dyson. The brilliance of John von Neumann is on full display, not least his brilliance in gathering amazingly talented people for one of the most ambitious projects ever--the creation of a stored-program computer--and creating the kind of community and sense of purpose that scarcely exists in our current world of commercialized technology.
helph67 3y ago
"Fire In The Valley" Paul Freiberger & Michael Swaine - McGraw Hill "Forbes Greatest Technology Stories" Jeffrey Young - John Wiley & Sons Also recommend "Dealers of Lightening" and "The Cuckoo's Egg"
0xBDB 3y ago
Not yet covered by others: The Code Book, by Simon Singh [History of Cryptography] The Idea Factory, by John Gertner [Bell Labs] The Information, by James Gleick [Shannon and Information Theory. I haven't read the mentioned A Mind at Play on the same subject]

6 points by Decabytes 3y ago

Off the top of my head: Soul of a New Machine by Tracy Kidder - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Soul_of_a_New_Machine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Soul_of_a_New_Machine Dealers of Lightening - https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/1101290 https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/1101290 Cult of the Dead Cow - https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/42283862 https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/42283862 The Cuckoo's Egg - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cuckoo%27s_Egg_(book) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cuckoo%27s_Egg_(book)

mindcrime 3y ago
The Soul of a New Machine and The Cuckoo's Egg are essential! Can't recommend either highly enough. Still looking forward to reading Cult of the Dead Cow and Dealers of Lightning. Reading AlbertCory's book now, which appears to cover some of the same ground as "Dealers".

genericacct 3y ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jargon_File https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jargon_File pretty sure you can find it online in 7 bit ASCII format

vclouder 3y ago

Fantastic book What the Dormouse Said: How the Sixties Counterculture Shaped the Personal Computer Industry - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/725789.What_the_Dormouse_Said https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/725789.What_the_Dormouse... Troublemakers: Silicon Valley's Coming of Age - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34467030-troublemakers https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34467030-troublemakers A Mind at Play: How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32919530-a-mind-at-play https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32919530-a-mind-at-play

mindcrime 3y ago

1. Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution - Steven Levy[1] 2. Inventing the Future - Albert Cory[2][3] 3. Cyberpunk: Outlaws and Hackers on the Computer Frontier - John Markoff and Katie Hafner[4][5] 4. Ghost in the Wires: My Adventures as the World's Most Wanted Hacker - Kevin Mitnick[6] 5. Not a book, but definitely consider watching "Halt & Catch Fire"[7] if you haven't seen it yet. It's an amazing show that deals with, loosely speaking, "the history of the computer industry". 6. Exploding the Phone: The Untold Story of the Teenagers and Outlaws Who Hacked Ma Bell - Phil Lapsley[8] [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hackers:_Heroes_of_the_Computer_Revolution https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hackers:_Heroes_of_the_Compute... [2]: https://www.amazon.com/Inventing-Future-Albert-Cory/dp/1736298615 https://www.amazon.com/Inventing-Future-Albert-Cory/dp/17362... [3]: Note that AlbertCory is an HN'er! https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28059246 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28059246 [4]: https://www.amazon.com/Cyberpunk-Outlaws-Hackers-Computer-Frontier/dp/0671683225 https://www.amazon.com/Cyberpunk-Outlaws-Hackers-Computer-Fr... [5]: Yes, I'm aware there are substantial question marks concerning the veracity of some of the information in this book, especially as it pertains to Mitnick. Nonetheless, I believe it's worth reading, but also suggest reading other books about Mitnick, including his autobiography, to get the other perspective [6]: https://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Wires-Adventures-Worlds-Wanted/dp/0316037729/ https://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Wires-Adventures-Worlds-Wanted/... [7]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halt_and_Catch_Fire_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halt_and_Catch_Fire_(TV_series... [8]: https://www.amazon.com/Exploding-Phone-Phil-Lapsley/dp/0802122280 https://www.amazon.com/Exploding-Phone-Phil-Lapsley/dp/08021...

mitchbob 3y ago

The Dream Machine: J.C.R. Licklider and the Revolution That Made Computing Personal is a great read. The recent Stripe Press reissue [1] includes some of J.C.R. Licklider's writings at the end, a nice bonus. [1] https://press.stripe.com/the-dream-machine https://press.stripe.com/the-dream-machine

mitchbob 3y ago

Turing's Cathedral: The Origins of the Digital Universe by George Dyson. The brilliance of John von Neumann is on full display, not least his brilliance in gathering amazingly talented people for one of the most ambitious projects ever--the creation of a stored-program computer--and creating the kind of community and sense of purpose that scarcely exists in our current world of commercialized technology.

helph67 3y ago

"Fire In The Valley" Paul Freiberger & Michael Swaine - McGraw Hill "Forbes Greatest Technology Stories" Jeffrey Young - John Wiley & Sons Also recommend "Dealers of Lightening" and "The Cuckoo's Egg"

0xBDB 3y ago

Not yet covered by others: The Code Book, by Simon Singh [History of Cryptography] The Idea Factory, by John Gertner [Bell Labs] The Information, by James Gleick [Shannon and Information Theory. I haven't read the mentioned A Mind at Play on the same subject]