Many books about the history of technology focus on the creativity and ah-hah moments involved in building the tools and infrastructure that many of uMany books about the history of technology focus on the creativity and ah-hah moments involved in building the tools and infrastructure that many of us take for granted today. "The Intel Trinity" gives you a bit of that, but also focuses on the history of the company which is nearly synonymous with the underpinnings of the modern personal computer: Intel.
The "trinity" referred to in the title are the founders of the company around whom the narrative focuses: Robert Noyce, Gordon Moore, and Andy Grove. The less-remembered Noyce was the quiet genius and risk-taker who hated conflict, but often made the decisions that made Fairchild Semiconductor and Intel succeed. Moore inadvertently created the "law" that drove the microchip forward. Grove was the Hungarian immigrant who survived a harrowing childhood under Nazi occupation, idolized Moore, hated Noyce, and became the most famous executive of the PC era.
"The Intel Trinity" is an important study of these three men and the company they created. ...more
This book is recognized as one of the seminal histories of the early Internet, and deservedly so. Starting with the origins of the Advanced Research PThis book is recognized as one of the seminal histories of the early Internet, and deservedly so. Starting with the origins of the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA)in Eisenhower's Defense Department and walking through the Sixties and Seventies as the ARPANet is built, grows, and eventually dismantled. Interviews with many of the pioneers make this book as entertaining as it is informative.
Where Wizards Stay Up Late is focused on the engineers, academics and government bureaucrats that built the machines that connect together. It is less about the human connections built as the Internet grew.
I could go on, but if you have any interest in this topic, this book should be at the top of your list....more