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There’s a book “The Dream Machine”* that is kinda biographical for this paper * https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/722412 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/

There’s a book “The Dream Machine”* that is kinda biographical for this paper * https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/722412 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/722412

davedx 2y ago
Yes I read the book first 6-7 years ago! One of the best books I’ve read, up there with Skunk Works.
- boguscoder 2y ago
  Huge props for Skunk Works! I found Dream Machine considerably harder to read (non native speaker here) but content is golden anyway
  - liendolucas 2y ago
    Author of Skunk Works? Is it related to Lockheed Martin Skunk Works division?
    - tesseract 2y ago
      Ben Rich, and yes: he was the 2nd director of the Lockheed Skunk Works. I think the book may have been out of print for a while but it's easily available now.
      - liendolucas 2y ago
        Thanks, for some reason I got downvoted... Just for asking an author. HN is indeed surprising.
criddell 2y ago
The Stripe Press edition of the book is a beautiful product, but the font is small. I bought the book but had a hard time reading it so I got a digital copy for my ereader where I could select a larger font.
uolmir 2y ago
It is one of my favorites. I actually came to it via "where wizards stay up late", which I would also recommend although it doesn't have the depth and insight of dream machine.
- metroholografix 2y ago
  Wizards for me falls flat (kinda like "soul of a new machine" that's often recommended but which I found a complete waste of time) while the Dream Machine, Dealers of Lightning [1] and Norbert Wiener's biography [2] are all essential reading. [1] https://www.amazon.com/Dealers-Lightning-Xerox-PARC-Computer/dp/0887309895/ https://www.amazon.com/Dealers-Lightning-Xerox-PARC-Computer... [2] https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Hero-Information-Age-Cybernetics/dp/0465013716 https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Hero-Information-Age-Cybernetics...
  - boguscoder 2y ago
    Id also add The Idea Factory* unless you have even better recommendations for Bell Labs era * https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11797471-the-idea-factory https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11797471-the-idea-factor...
  - tedunangst 2y ago
    Showstopper, about windows NT, is a good replacement for Soul.
  - uolmir 2y ago
    Yeah. I think if I read Dream Machine first I would have enjoyed Wizards less. But some of the history was new to me which meant that I enjoyed Wizards for those aspects and then Dream Machine for the detailed look into why it happened.
  - djmips 2y ago
    "The Soul of a New Machine" is not so much a foundational book but a snapshot of the computer industry and might be more interesting to someone who had no idea of the industry as I did when it was published in 1981. For me it was a fascinating glimpse into the tech industry that I would soon join, albeit in software not hardware.
jjice 2y ago
This is a _dense_ book (in the best way). So much incredible history that's not as well presented anywhere else I've found. Sitting at 500+ pages and the font is pretty damn small, this is one hell of an informative book. We really stand on the shoulders of giants.
- krtkush 2y ago
  Took me about 6 months to finish it. But it was such a fun read! I would put it in the leagues of Making of the Atomic Bomb and Emperors of Maladies.
  - ManuelKiessling 2y ago
    And Rocket Men.
- pjmorris 2y ago
  'The Dream Machine' languished in my 'To read' pile until I started the audiobook while on a road trip earlier this year. I was drawn in and read it through, switching between audio and ebook. I knew parts of the puzzle but it was amazing to see how they all fit together. An amazing book about a series of amazing accomplishments that let us share these ideas so widely and quickly.
cxr 2y ago
Here's the first of a three-part interview with Waldrop, the author of The Dream Machine[1] and semi-official Licklider biographer of sorts: <https://luminary.fm/episode/mitch-waldrop-on-the-dream-machine-part-1-1940s-to-1970s/ https://luminary.fm/episode/mitch-waldrop-on-the-dream-machi...> 1. Not to be confused with Ted Nelson's titled work Dream Machines, one half of the pair Computer Lib/Dream Machines that described Project Xanadu and articulated a vision about computer user freedom that predates Stallman and the free software movement, complete with manifesto.

There’s a book “The Dream Machine”* that is kinda biographical for this paper * https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/722412 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/722412

davedx 2y ago

Yes I read the book first 6-7 years ago! One of the best books I’ve read, up there with Skunk Works.

boguscoder 2y ago
Huge props for Skunk Works! I found Dream Machine considerably harder to read (non native speaker here) but content is golden anyway
- liendolucas 2y ago
  Author of Skunk Works? Is it related to Lockheed Martin Skunk Works division?
  - tesseract 2y ago
    Ben Rich, and yes: he was the 2nd director of the Lockheed Skunk Works. I think the book may have been out of print for a while but it's easily available now.
    - liendolucas 2y ago
      Thanks, for some reason I got downvoted... Just for asking an author. HN is indeed surprising.

criddell 2y ago

The Stripe Press edition of the book is a beautiful product, but the font is small. I bought the book but had a hard time reading it so I got a digital copy for my ereader where I could select a larger font.

uolmir 2y ago

It is one of my favorites. I actually came to it via "where wizards stay up late", which I would also recommend although it doesn't have the depth and insight of dream machine.

metroholografix 2y ago
Wizards for me falls flat (kinda like "soul of a new machine" that's often recommended but which I found a complete waste of time) while the Dream Machine, Dealers of Lightning [1] and Norbert Wiener's biography [2] are all essential reading. [1] https://www.amazon.com/Dealers-Lightning-Xerox-PARC-Computer/dp/0887309895/ https://www.amazon.com/Dealers-Lightning-Xerox-PARC-Computer... [2] https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Hero-Information-Age-Cybernetics/dp/0465013716 https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Hero-Information-Age-Cybernetics...
- boguscoder 2y ago
  Id also add The Idea Factory* unless you have even better recommendations for Bell Labs era * https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11797471-the-idea-factory https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11797471-the-idea-factor...
- tedunangst 2y ago
  Showstopper, about windows NT, is a good replacement for Soul.
- uolmir 2y ago
  Yeah. I think if I read Dream Machine first I would have enjoyed Wizards less. But some of the history was new to me which meant that I enjoyed Wizards for those aspects and then Dream Machine for the detailed look into why it happened.
- djmips 2y ago
  "The Soul of a New Machine" is not so much a foundational book but a snapshot of the computer industry and might be more interesting to someone who had no idea of the industry as I did when it was published in 1981. For me it was a fascinating glimpse into the tech industry that I would soon join, albeit in software not hardware.

jjice 2y ago

This is a _dense_ book (in the best way). So much incredible history that's not as well presented anywhere else I've found. Sitting at 500+ pages and the font is pretty damn small, this is one hell of an informative book. We really stand on the shoulders of giants.

krtkush 2y ago
Took me about 6 months to finish it. But it was such a fun read! I would put it in the leagues of Making of the Atomic Bomb and Emperors of Maladies.
- ManuelKiessling 2y ago
  And Rocket Men.
pjmorris 2y ago
'The Dream Machine' languished in my 'To read' pile until I started the audiobook while on a road trip earlier this year. I was drawn in and read it through, switching between audio and ebook. I knew parts of the puzzle but it was amazing to see how they all fit together. An amazing book about a series of amazing accomplishments that let us share these ideas so widely and quickly.

cxr 2y ago

Here's the first of a three-part interview with Waldrop, the author of The Dream Machine[1] and semi-official Licklider biographer of sorts: <https://luminary.fm/episode/mitch-waldrop-on-the-dream-machine-part-1-1940s-to-1970s/ https://luminary.fm/episode/mitch-waldrop-on-the-dream-machi...> 1. Not to be confused with Ted Nelson's titled work Dream Machines, one half of the pair Computer Lib/Dream Machines that described Project Xanadu and articulated a vision about computer user freedom that predates Stallman and the free software movement, complete with manifesto.