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Some that I liked: - Hackers : http://www.amazon.com/Hackers-Computer-Revolution-Anniversary-Edition/dp/1449388396 http://www.amazon.com/Hackers-Computer-Revol

by steverb 11y ago

Some that I liked: - Hackers : http://www.amazon.com/Hackers-Computer-Revolution-Anniversary-Edition/dp/1449388396 http://www.amazon.com/Hackers-Computer-Revolution-Anniversar... - The Soul of a New Machine: http://www.amazon.com/The-Soul-A-New-Machine/dp/0316491977 http://www.amazon.com/The-Soul-A-New-Machine/dp/0316491977 - Show Stopper! : http://www.amazon.com/Show-Stopper-Breakneck-Generation-Microsoft/dp/0029356717 http://www.amazon.com/Show-Stopper-Breakneck-Generation-Micr... - Dealers of Lightning: http://www.amazon.com/Dealers-Lightning-Xerox-PARC-Computer/dp/0887309895 http://www.amazon.com/Dealers-Lightning-Xerox-PARC-Computer/... - Where Wizards Stay Up Late: http://www.amazon.com/Where-Wizards-Stay-Up-Late/dp/0684832674 http://www.amazon.com/Where-Wizards-Stay-Up-Late/dp/06848326...

deutronium 11y ago
I'll second Hackers Heroes of the Computer Revolution, I found that a really fascinating book.
- veddox 11y ago
  Absolutely. It does a great job of showing the spirit of the early hackers at MIT, even though it's not really a technical book.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
- ritchiea 11y ago
  Hackers was a fun read but I don't think it's really an answer to the original question asking about computing history and expressing a concern that our field has a short memory. The OP's complaint was that most history stops at Turing and everything in Hackers is about MIT post-Turing.
  - duaneb 11y ago
    > The OP's complaint was that most history stops at Turing and everything in Hackers is about MIT post-Turing. Before Turing, it was a handful of people obsessed with computing things efficiently. That history is difficult to extract from the hardware pre-Turing.
cschmidt 11y ago
I thought Hackers and Soul of a New Machine were both fantastic.
ctrijueque 11y ago
'Hackers' is avalaible as a free ebook too: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/729 https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/729
0xdeadbeefbabe 11y ago
Dealers of Lightning because you might learn some new words, and did you know they had to fight to get the laser printer to the world?
grkvlt 11y ago
"The Soul of a New Machine" is an excellent book. It is about the creation of the first 32 bit minicomputer hardware, complete with descriptions of ADVENTURE (aka Colossal Cave) and the "Maze of twisty passages all alike" and memorable lines such as "I am going to a commune in Vermont, and will deal with no time period shorter than a season" said after much work on gate delays and intstruction timing iassues...
LarryMade2 11y ago
I'd add in that list the New Hacker's Dictionary edited by Eric S Raymond http://www.amazon.com/The-New-Hackers-Dictionary-Edition/dp/0262680920 http://www.amazon.com/The-New-Hackers-Dictionary-Edition/dp/... - (aka the Jargon File http://www.catb.org/jargon/html/ http://www.catb.org/jargon/html/ ) It includes many computing terms invented over the years with their meanings and origins. You can learn a a bit about computer history by readin it.

by steverb 11y ago

deutronium 11y ago

I'll second Hackers Heroes of the Computer Revolution, I found that a really fascinating book.

veddox 11y ago
Absolutely. It does a great job of showing the spirit of the early hackers at MIT, even though it's not really a technical book.
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
ritchiea 11y ago
Hackers was a fun read but I don't think it's really an answer to the original question asking about computing history and expressing a concern that our field has a short memory. The OP's complaint was that most history stops at Turing and everything in Hackers is about MIT post-Turing.
- duaneb 11y ago
  > The OP's complaint was that most history stops at Turing and everything in Hackers is about MIT post-Turing. Before Turing, it was a handful of people obsessed with computing things efficiently. That history is difficult to extract from the hardware pre-Turing.

cschmidt 11y ago

I thought Hackers and Soul of a New Machine were both fantastic.

ctrijueque 11y ago

'Hackers' is avalaible as a free ebook too: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/729 https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/729

0xdeadbeefbabe 11y ago

Dealers of Lightning because you might learn some new words, and did you know they had to fight to get the laser printer to the world?

grkvlt 11y ago

"The Soul of a New Machine" is an excellent book. It is about the creation of the first 32 bit minicomputer hardware, complete with descriptions of ADVENTURE (aka Colossal Cave) and the "Maze of twisty passages all alike" and memorable lines such as "I am going to a commune in Vermont, and will deal with no time period shorter than a season" said after much work on gate delays and intstruction timing iassues...

LarryMade2 11y ago

I'd add in that list the New Hacker's Dictionary edited by Eric S Raymond http://www.amazon.com/The-New-Hackers-Dictionary-Edition/dp/0262680920 http://www.amazon.com/The-New-Hackers-Dictionary-Edition/dp/... - (aka the Jargon File http://www.catb.org/jargon/html/ http://www.catb.org/jargon/html/ ) It includes many computing terms invented over the years with their meanings and origins. You can learn a a bit about computer history by readin it.