Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution - Softcover

Steven Levy; Levy, Steven

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0141000511 ISBN 13: 9780141000510

Publisher: Penguin Books, 2001

Synopsis

Interviews with the unconventional computer geniuses who were responsible for the computer revolution reveal the inside story and the shared ideals that motivated them. Reprint.

About this title

Review:

Steven Levy's classic book explains why the misuse of the word "hackers" to describe computer criminals does a terrible disservice to many important shapers of the digital revolution. Levy follows members of an MIT model railroad club--a group of brilliant budding electrical engineers and computer innovators--from the late 1950s to the mid-1980s. These eccentric characters used the term "hack" to describe a clever way of improving the electronic system that ran their massive railroad. And as they started designing clever ways to improve computer systems, "hack" moved over with them. These maverick characters were often fanatics who did not always restrict themselves to the letter of the law and who devoted themselves to what became known as "The Hacker Ethic." The book traces the history of hackers, from finagling access to clunky computer-card-punching machines to uncovering the inner secrets of what would become the Internet. This story of brilliant, eccentric, flawed, and often funny people devoted to their dream of a better world will appeal to a wide audience.

About the Author:

Steven Levy is also the author of Crypto: When the Code Rebels Beat the Government-Saving Privacy in the Digital Age and the chief technology writer for Newsweek. He is a regular contributor to numerous publications including Macworld and Wired.

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0141000511
• ISBN 13: 9780141000510
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 464