HackerNews Readings: The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution

All Time Past 6 Months

Programming in Scala

Martin Odersky, Lex Spoon, et al.

4.7 on Amazon

42 HN comments

The Art of Doing Science and Engineering: Learning to Learn

Richard W. Hamming and Bret Victor

4.7 on Amazon

40 HN comments

The Master Algorithm: How the Quest for the Ultimate Learning Machine Will Remake Our World

Pedro Domingos

4.4 on Amazon

40 HN comments

Operating Systems: Three Easy Pieces

Remzi H Arpaci-Dusseau and Andrea C Arpaci-Dusseau

4.7 on Amazon

40 HN comments

Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action

Simon Sinek

4.6 on Amazon

36 HN comments

Java Concurrency in Practice

Brian Goetz , Tim Peierls, et al.

4.7 on Amazon

34 HN comments

Countdown to Zero Day: Stuxnet and the Launch of the World's First Digital Weapon

Kim Zetter, Joe Ochman, et al.

4.7 on Amazon

34 HN comments

Managing Humans: Biting and Humorous Tales of a Software Engineering Manager

Michael Lopp

4.4 on Amazon

33 HN comments

The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution

Walter Isaacson, Dennis Boutsikaris, et al.

4.6 on Amazon

31 HN comments

Elements of Programming Interviews: The Insiders' Guide

Adnan Aziz , Tsung-Hsien Lee , et al.

4.6 on Amazon

31 HN comments

Accelerated C++: Practical Programming by Example

Andrew Koenig , Mike Hendrickson, et al.

4.2 on Amazon

31 HN comments

The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World: 10th Anniversary Edition

Niall Ferguson

4.5 on Amazon

30 HN comments

Programming Rust: Fast, Safe Systems Development

Jim Blandy, Jason Orendorff, et al.

? on Amazon

28 HN comments

Python for Data Analysis: Data Wrangling with Pandas, NumPy, and IPython

Wes McKinney

4.6 on Amazon

28 HN comments

Think Python: How to Think Like a Computer Scientist

Allen B. Downey

4.6 on Amazon

27 HN comments

Prev Page 3/16 Next

Sorted by relevance

auslegungonJune 18, 2021

I’ve only read two and I enjoyed them both.

- Steve Wozniak’s autobiography

- Walter Isaacson’s The Innovators

verdvermonJuly 17, 2020

Walter Isaacson, The Innovators is a great book

CiscoCodexonMar 27, 2020

I'm still working thru "The Innovators"! and so far it has been a delight. One of the main points of the book was the importance of teamwork. It's a great take on the idea that in the shadow of great figures, like Steve Jobs and IBM, lie hundreds of lesser known innovators.

yang140onJan 18, 2015

I really like The Innovators by Walter Isaacson, it is a great book about the whole computer history and many ideas that made it possible.

marmot1101onDec 8, 2014

Work related: Inspired by Mary Cagan, The Innovators by Walter Isaacson

Non-Work related: The Supreme Gift and Warrior of Light by Coelho.

occamschainsawonMar 28, 2020

The Innovators by Walter Isaacson looks at the different eras in the history of computing, from Ada Lovelace, looms to transistors and microchips to the development of the web. It's a fun read with emphasis on both the technology and the people behind it.

hanleconSep 12, 2015

I recently finished reading Walter Isaacson's The Innovators books. One of the things that caught my attention was that for many of the people mentioned in the book there was a mention of extra-curricular interests.

iendsonSep 27, 2018

The Innovators by Walter Isaacson (early computing history)

Where Wizards Stay Up Late by Katie Hafner (specifically the internet)

projprojonMar 22, 2016

Just read about Andy Grove yesterday in The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution by Walter Isaacson. Great book (though its thesis and the story in the book would contradict the assertion that a single man built Silicon Valley).

DarkTreeonSep 2, 2016

I definitely agree with getting value from books about companies/people you admire. I think it's more memorable to read about real people's actions and lifestyles as opposed to reading "how-to" or "self-help" books, though I read those too and have received value from them as well.

Here are some books I'd recommend in the former vein:

1. Elon Musk - as mentioned, awesome, inspiring read

2. Creativity, Inc. - Ed Catmull's story of Pixar

3. Masters of Doom - Carmack is a boss

4. The Innovators - The people who created the computing world

5. Hackers - The people who created the computing world

6. Steve Jobs - obligatory, whether positive/negative

rebootthesystemonFeb 17, 2015

The issue is well described in The Innovators Dilema. Failure to recognize a fork in the road and realign the enterprise. Having 7,000 stores is insane in the contest of a transition to an internet centric landscape.

b_emeryonJune 22, 2017

The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution
by Walter Isaacson

It's a history of where all this - startup culture, silicon valley, computers, internet, hackers - came from. Should be essential reading for anyone working in IT.

bhaumikonOct 25, 2016

I was too young to use BBS when it started but the topic fascinates me, especially after having read Hackers and The Innovators.

Not to hijack the topic, but has anyone watched the show Halt and Catch Fire (available on Netflix)? I'm curious how accurately that show captures the culture of that era.

Would love any additional reading recommendations around BBS' emergence as well. Already bookmarked the documentary series: https://archive.org/details/BBS.The.Documentary

nem000onDec 14, 2018

I posted this article because I'm really afraid that many young entrepreneurs take Elon Musk (and Steve Jobs, etc.) as role models and get the impression that in order to be successful you have to be an abusive brick.

I've recently read Walter Isaacson's "The Innovators" and there seem to be at least a couple of counterexamples (Robert Noyce for instance). Any other examples of tech leaders who lead their companies in a friendly and open manner and are successful despite (or probably because) of that?

SuperChihuahuaonDec 23, 2015

I've read 33 books so I'm not going to publish the list here, but i blogged about it: http://blog.habrador.com/2015/12/books-ive-read-in-2015.html

The books I liked the most were:

- The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes - and Why

- On Intelligence

- The Martian

- The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution

- Einstein: His Life and Universe

- Alan Turing: The Enigma

- Neuroscience for Dummies

- Thunder Run - (which is about the battle of Baghdad in 2003)

godelmachineonApr 18, 2020

The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution by Walter Isaacson is a must-read

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Innovators_(book)

kosmodromonMay 8, 2020

If you like to get to know history of computers then check The Innovators by Isaacson Walter

joshberettaonMar 28, 2020

The Innovators by Walter Isaacson is one of my favourites.

Lotus123onApr 15, 2017

Was listening to Walter Issacson's book The Innovators today afternoon about the birth of xerox Parc. A
What a coincidence. RIP

guiambrosonJan 7, 2020

Computer history is one of my favorite topics, so I've read a lot over the years. Here's my list:

>> Classic computer history:

- "Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution", Steven Levy

- "The Innovators", Walter Isaacson

- "Valley of Genius: The Uncensored History of Silicon Valley", Adam Fisher [innovative format, tons of interesting tidbits after you get used to the style. Read only after the other two above]

- "The New New Thing: A Silicon Valley Story", Michael Lewis

- "The Second Coming of Steve Jobs", Alan Deutschman

- "Revolution in The Valley: The Insanely Great Story of How the Mac Was Made", Andy Hertzfeld

- "Masters of Doom", David Kushner

- "Idea Man", Paul Allen

- "Where Wizards Stay Up Late", Katie Hafner

>> Entertaining stories, but less historical value:

- "Ghost in the Wires", Kevin Mitnick

- "Chaos Monkeys: Obscene Fortune and Random Failure in Silicon Valley", Antonio Garcia Martinez

- "Hatching Twitter: A True Story of Money, Power, Friendship, and Betrayal", Nick Bilton

>> On my to-read queue:

- "How the Internet Happened", Brian McCullough [just started; very promising]

- "Troublemakers: Silicon Valley's Coming of Age", Leslie Berlin

- "Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers of WWII", Liza Mundy

- "Fire in the Valley: The Making of The Personal Computer", Paul Freiberger / Michael Swaine

>> Others worth mentioning (but just read a few chapters):

- "The Supermen: The Story of Seymour Cray", Charles Murray [about Cray Computers]

- "Racing the Beam" [about Atari]

- "Commodore: A Company on the Edge" [about Commodore]

>> Bonus:

- "Art of Atari", Tim Lapetino [great as a coffee table book, particularly if you grew up in the 80's :) ]

godelmachineonJune 1, 2018

The Innovators by Walter Isaacson is your book

godelmachineonJune 1, 2018

I will recommend The Innovators a 1000 times

thecodeboyonJan 17, 2018

The Innovators by Walter Isaacson

alanfnoelonFeb 5, 2017

The Innovators by Walter Isaacson

mr-rononJuly 16, 2019

For people interested in this part of Computer history I highly recommend the book "The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution" https://www.amazon.com/Innovators-Hackers-Geniuses-Created-R...

Gets deep into this part of history, and goes deep into what was shared between companies and research as well.

oladoonOct 7, 2014

Walter Isaacson has created a playlist for his book, and has a personal video post on the female programmers here:
http://milq.com/bead/great-digital-innovations?sort=recent

The playlist is a collaborative; where Walter asks the community to provide the top digital innovations: "I've just written a book, The Innovators, about how a group of inventors, hackers, geniuses and geeks created the digital revolution. I thought this Bead might be a great way for us to share examples of great innovations around the development of computers and the Internet and the stories behind them."

guiambrosonSep 11, 2016

Here's the best books I've read in the last year or so:

>> Computer History & biographies:

The New New Thing: A Silicon Valley Story, Michael Lewis

The Second Coming of Steve Jobs, by Alan Deutschman

Machines of Loving Grace, by John Markoff

The Innovators, by Walter Isaacson

Ghost in the Wires, by Kevin Mitnick

Idea Man: A Memoir by the Cofounder of Microsoft, by Paul Allen

Creativity, Inc, by Ed Catmull (reading)

>> Startups:

The Hard Thing About Hard Things, by Ben Horowitz

The Founder's Dilemmas, Noam Wasserman

The Launch Pad, by Randall Stross

>> Other books:

Trilogy: Off to Be the Wizard (series), by Scott Meyer

Search Inside Yourself, Chade-Meng Tan

Joy on Demand, Chade-Meng Tan (reading)

guiambrosonAug 29, 2018

> But the percentage is higher for black people for a wide variety of causes of death...

Let me quote the title of the link above: "Number of people SHOT TO DEATH BY THE POLICE in the United States in 2017-2018, as of June, by race".

Exposure to "toxic substances"? I don't think so.

Also, tech industry != "the internet".

If you're really interested in having a debate, go ahead and read Emily's book. Seriously.

While you're at it, "The Innovators" [1] is also a good read, and it'll be helpful to understand that the roots of our "tech industry" really started 100+ years ago, with a disproportional growth starting several decades before Larry and Sergey even got admitted to kindergarten...

The gender disparity we're seeing today is the consequence of several decades of systemic and widespread conscious and unconscious biases, that have shaped the perception of an entire generation.

Once you refine your understanding and start paying attention, you can see it everywhere. And unfortunately it'll take decades to fix.

[1] https://www.amazon.com/Innovators-Hackers-Geniuses-Created-R...

heymijoonNov 15, 2020

I think there's such an interest in seeing the genius behind a work which actually involves the collaboration of a group to actually succeed

Walter Isaacson recognized this when he went to write his book The Innovators [0]. He intended it to be a more narrow autobiographical book like he is known for but quickly realized the technological revolution was brought about through an collaborative effort across time and space.

[0] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21856367-the-innovators

zaque1213onJan 19, 2017

Improv. I've been taking classes at a local improv theater in Houston and it has been the most enjoyment I've gotten out of an activity in many years. For two hours a week I am encouraged to say, do, be anything that comes into my head, and react to situations without the filters I have to abide by at work and at home. I'm almost done with Level 1, and have our "graduation show" next weekend. After that comes level 2 and a few more advanced topics and methods.

Web App Development and Computer Science. I don't plan on making it a career but I started learning to program a few years ago after reading The Innovators by Walter Isaacson and it turned into a healthy addiction. Right now I'm throwing together a video library, actually for my improv theater, with Django to search for videos by improv troupe. I'm also doing Harvard's online CS50 course because I want to dive a little deeper into the science of it all.

godelmachineonJan 25, 2018

I remember reading "The Innovators" by Walter Isaacson, and the story of Sir TimBL and how he invented the WWW. At one point, TimBL says that Data Structures aren't efficient, and today's kids just superficially know the upper layers of the software stack, and don't know what really goes on at the transistor level. He also says that the limits of computing are only limited by your imagination.

Now I realize it actually runs in the family.