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Title: Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution by Steven Levy ISBN: 0-14-100051-1 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: 02 January, 2001 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.49 (65 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Required reading for computer programmers
Comment: Hackers, by Steven Levy, should be required reading for anyone who programs computers for a living. Starting from the late 1950s, when the first hackers wrote code for the TX-0 and every instruction counted, to the early 1980s, when computers fully entered the consumer mainstream, and it was marketing rather than hacking which mattered. Levy divides this time into three eras: that of the 'True Hackers,' who lived in the AI lab at MIT and spent most of their time on the PDP series, the 'Hardware Hackers,' mostly situated in Silicon Valley and responsible for enhancing the Altair and creating the Apple, and the 'Game Hackers,' who were also centered in California; expert at getting the most out of computer hardware, they were also the first to make gobs and gobs of money hacking.
The reason everyone who codes should read this book is to gain a sense of history. Because the field changes so quickly, it's easy to forget that there is a history, and, as Santayana said, "Those who do not remember the past are doomed to repeat it." It's also very humbling, at least for me, to see what kind of shenanigans were undertaken to get the last bit of performance from a piece of hardware that was amazing for its time, but now would be junked without a thought. And a third takeaway was the transformation that the game industry went through in the early 80s: first you needed technical brilliance, because the hardware was slow and new techniques needed to be discovered. However, at some point, the hard work was all done, and the business types took over. To me, this corresponds to the 1997-2001 time period, with the web rather than games being the focus.
That's one of my beefs--the version I read was written in 1983, and republished, with a new afterword in 1993. So, there's no mention of the new '4th generation' of hackers, who didn't have the close knit communities of the Homebrew Computer Club or the AI lab, but did have a far flung, global fellowship via email and newsgroups. It would be a fascinating read.
Beyond the dated nature of the book, Levy omits several developments that I think were fundamental to the development of the hacker mindset. There's only one mention of Unix in the entire book, and no mention of C. In fact, the only languages he mentions are lisp, basic and assembly. No smalltalk, and no C. I also feel that he overemphasizes 'hacking' as a way that folks viewed and interacted with the world, without defining it. For instance, he talks about Ken Williams, founder of Sierra Online, 'hacking' the company, when it looked to me like it was simple mismanagement.
For all that, it was a fantastic read. The more you identify with the geeky, single males who were in tune with the computer, the easier and more fun a read it will be, but I still think that everyone who uses a computer could benefit from reading Hackers, because of the increased understanding of the folks that we all depend on to create great software.
Rating: 5
Summary: Several Books in One
Comment: This book can be read in several ways.
Taking it head-on, it is a true story of some real heroes of the Computer Revolution. People who got into the guts of the machine to truly understand (or "grok") how it works and why. From the Tech Model Railroad Club to Apple, these are the people who we can thank for the Internet, for personal computers and for just about any automated system we take for granted today.
Taken another way, this book demonstrates an often-overlooked way of teaching and learning. The Hackers have one thing in common: An innate desire to learn. Sometimes all it takes is putting a person in a room with something interesting, and letting them explore. That person will learn more than any book or lecture could have taught.
Finally, this book is can be a great gift for a student of computers. Just the thing to inspire someone to greater things.
Rating: 5
Summary: A must read for a Computer History buff
Comment: If you saw Robert X Cringeley's "Triumph Of The Nerds" on PBS, this book pre-dates it by *years* Many of the people RXC mentions are here in the book. This book's a wild and wooly romp through the little-known side of the True History of computers and the unsung heroes who, only for the glory of solving a problem or impressing their friends brought us to the revolution/evolution of the Personal Computer. I got this when it was first published in hardcover and have long since lost the dust jacket and have read it countless times.
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Title: Crypto: How the Code Rebels Beat the Government Saving Privacy in the Digital Age by Steven Levy ISBN: 0140244328 Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc. Pub. Date: 15 January, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Cuckoo's Egg: Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage by Clifford Stoll ISBN: 0743411463 Publisher: Pocket Books Pub. Date: 03 October, 2000 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: Fire in the Valley: The Making of The Personal Computer by Paul Freiberger, Michael Swaine ISBN: 0071358927 Publisher: McGraw-Hill Trade Pub. Date: 29 November, 1999 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: The Masters of Deception : Gang That Ruled Cyberspace, The by Michele Slatalla ISBN: 0060926945 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 10 January, 1996 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: The Art of Deception: Controlling the Human Element of Security by Kevin D. Mitnick, William L. Simon, Steve Wozniak ISBN: 0471237124 Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Pub. Date: 04 October, 2002 List Price(USD): $27.50 |
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