Fire in the Valley: The Making of The Personal Computer (Second Edition) - Softcover

Freiberger, Paul; Swaine, Michael

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0071358927 ISBN 13: 9780071358927

Publisher: McGraw-Hill, 2000

Synopsis

“A book not to be missed, just plain good reading about the drama of the Kids next door turning their dreams into millions.” —The New York Times “Swaine and Freiberger capture the communal spirit of the early computer clubs, the brilliance and blundering of some of the first start-up companies, the assortment of naiveté, noble purpose and greed that characterized various pioneers, and the inevitable transformation of all this into a major industry. Must reading.” —Philip Lemmons, editor-in-chief, BYTE Magazine

About this title

About the Author

Paul Freidberger is the co-author of Fuzzy Logic: The Revolutionary Computer Technology That Is Changing Our World (S&S, 93), which won the Los Angeles Times Book of the Year award. He has been a newspaper reporter and columnist for the San Jose Mercury News, the San Francisco Examiner, and other publications. He has written articles for numerous publications and produced reports for National Public Radio. He has appeared on radio and television as a commentator on technology issues. He currently works as a member of the research staff at Interval Research Corp. in Palo Alto, California. Michael Swaine is editor-at-large for Dr. Dobb's Journal, a programmer's magazine, and a columnist for several magazines and electronic and broadcast venues. He holds degrees in computer science and psychology and has worked as a computer programmer, magazine editor, and publisher. He has written books on technology and has launched several computer magazines and a book line. In the past eighteen years, he has written over nine hundred articles on computers and technology. He is the creator of the Mr. Usasi puzzle detective.

From the Back Cover

"A great adventure that gives the reader a sense of being close to a historical movement that is still playing itself out."--From the foreword by John Markoff, The New York Times. In January 1975, Popular Electronics magazine published a cover story on the Altair, an odd metal box with switches and blinking lights that proved to be the progenitor of today's personal computer. Inspired by possibilities that the leaders of the electronics and mainframe computer industries couldn't see, unlikely entrepreneurs--hippies, dropouts, phone phreaks, and electronics hobbyists--seized the opportunity. How those personal computer pioneers went from side street garages to Wall Street's graces, and how their brilliance, enthusiasm, camaraderie, and competition changed the world is all here in Paul Freiberger and Michael Swaine's classic, Fire in the Valley: The Making of the Personal Computer. First released in 1984, it uniquely captures the explosive, frenetic energy of those early days. This updated edition features interviews with the major players, new chapters, dozens of new photos, and updates throughout that carry the story forward into the Internet era. The authors convey the exciting development of companies such as Apple, Microsoft, Sun, Netscape, Lotus, and Oracle. Itself a milestone in the fascinating history of the personal computer, Fire in the Valley is the definitive account of how it all happened and why.

Edition details

• Publisher: McGraw-Hill
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0071358927
• ISBN 13: 9780071358927
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 463