Accidental Empires: How the Boys of Silicon Valley Make Their Millions, Battle Foreign Competition, and Still Can't Get a Date

by Robert X. Cringely

Book Overview

Computer manufacturing is--after cars, energy production and illegal drugs--the largest industry in the world, and it's one of the last great success stories in American business. Accidental Empires is the trenchant, vastly readable history of that industry, focusing as much on the astoundingly odd personalities at its core--Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Mitch Kapor, etc. and the hacker culture they spawned as it does on the remarkable technology they created...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0201570327
• ISBN13: 9780201570328
• Release Date: February 1992
• Publisher: Da Capo Press
• Length: 324 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.4" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

History of Computing for People Like Us

Accidental Empires is the suggestive title of a journey into the story of computing starting from its humble beginnings during the early seventies and ending just before the Internet revolution. It is by all means a fascinating account of the people and events that shaped the marketplace and gave it a direction and turned it into a multibillion industry. I still find it hard to believe that the first computer available on the market came in unassembled parts and the user had to put it together and the end product had no harddrive, no OS, and no applications to run. And this happened only 25 years ago...As a journalist for Infoworld, Cringely leads us with a firm hand and clear passion for disentangling the intricate dependencies and relationships that reign in the computing industry. His book is a well informed account of the evolution of operating systems, hardware, networking, and print technologies starting from the day these were just wild ideas. Although the lecture may sound a little too technical and hence a bit complicated, this book is easy to follow. Through Cringely's talent we get a (funny but very plausible) portrait of the people, their desires, shortcommings, and in most cases genius and totally obsessive personalities.Apart for the obvious animosity that the author nurtures towards Gates and Jobs whom he claims to be to various degrees true sociopaths, one with ambition to dominate the world, the other one to be accepted and loved, I find the whole overview to be an objective and informative account of the fascinating and tumultuous evolution of computing as we know today. Overall, Cringely argues that despite the incredible brainpower, no founding geek was ever capable of truly assessing the enormous impact the creation of personal computing, a user friendly OS, and networking technologies would have on our world and their pockets (this is to confirm that one can excel in many things but not all things). At the same time, it is simply stupefying to read about the incredibly ill advised strategic decisions that established companies, such as IBM and Xerox, made. For more info on the 200 billion dollars misstake, turn to the IBM files.Along with The Sillicon Boys, this is the best book on the history of computing for the layman I've read so far, I don't hesitate to give it five stars.

hilarious, biting, an easy read

If you aren't in the IS profession, Robert X. Cringely is/was a pseudonym for the best gossip columnist in the industry. He's been in it so long he's familiar with most of the burial places.Cringely paints a picture of an industry dominated by people who were driven more by ego than by materialism: they had something to prove. In most cases it is hard to fault his analysis. His statements and conclusions about industry personae and events square with everything I've been able to verify.Cringely is excellent at explaining technical concepts to a non-technical audience using analogies, which are often riotously funny as well as helpful. This and the generally bouncy pace of the book will enable it to appeal to you even if you don't consider yourself a techie.

Great book, even if you're not a nerd!

If you're interested in the birth and growth of the PC industry this is your guide!After I saw the TV series I wanted to have the book, I even mailed Bob Cringely for the ISBN. A book like this could be a rather dull book, but this isn't one of those. This is a great book full of facts served with plenty of humour. Cringely was there when it happened, he knows what he's writing about. This book tells you about never released software, missed opportunities, killer applications, where the GUI came from, and much more in a language that isn't just for nerds. I've read this book twice, I'm pretty sure I'll read it again...

Outstanding! A Must Read If You Care About the Computer Biz

This book has two important things going for it. First, it's accurate. (I know. I remember most of it happening just the way Cringely describes it.) The other thing, though, is that it's INCREDIBLY well written. Great style, keen wit, sharp insight. You couldn't ask for much more from a book like this.

No one comes off well, well barely anyone.

Cringley, as they say, must be either suicidal, or have balls the size of an elephant. There's only one person who comes off looking good in this book, and that's Steve Woznaik (maybe Bob Taylor as well, but his is a peripheral story as far as the book's concerned). Just about everybody else faces Cringley's wrath, and sparks do fly.It's a very well written book, an enjoyable read that flows past efffortlessly, in a very conversational mood. What else would you expect from a gossip columnist. But Cringley does know his stuff, he goes through every myth about the "whiz-kids" and shatters just about every one of them. And there is a perverse pleasure in reading the low down and dirty on people larger than life. Even Cringley's version of pop-psychology (which can be very penetrating and illuminating at times) is amusing.You'll probably laugh yourself through this book, partly because you're relieved these guys aren't infallible, and partly because you're amazed they made it at all. And along the way you'll pick up little tid-bits of techno-lore to throw around.