From Walter Isaacson, The Innovators: The Brilliant People Who Ushered in the Tech Age
That you are reading these words right now—that the internet, or your computer, exists at all—is due to the efforts of countless brilliant minds working together across decades. In Walter Isaacson’s The Innovators, a revelatory new book on the history of computer science and the development of the internet, you’ll meet some of the most famous, influential players in the technological revolution. With a focus on people and personalities rather than on dry technical details, the book makes tech history into one heck of an entertaining read.
The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution
Hardcover $35.00
The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution
Hardcover $35.00
Isaacson, author of the acclaimed biography Steve Jobs, has an unparalleled ability to paint vivid portraits of his subjects. He’s also adept at showing how innovation actually works, and bringing to life the process of trial and error that precedes any true breakthrough. Here are just a few of the surprising stories he tells about the men and women who helped create the modern age.
The portrait was hidden
Ada Lovelace, often regarded as the first programmer for her work with Charles Babbage and his Analytical Engine in the 19th century, was the daughter of famed poet Lord Byron. When Byron’s fame turned to infamy due to an incestuous affair with his half-sister, Ada’s mother did all she could to prevent her daughter from following in his footsteps and becoming an artist. She cut off contact between Ada and Lord Byron, even placing a huge shroud over a portrait of the poet in their home, and pushed her daughter to study mathematics. If Byron hadn’t been such a notorious philanderer, the history of computers might have turned out very differently.
The first computer was stolen
Development of ENIAC, the first programmable computer that fits the modern definition of the word, began in 1943. Though work on the machine is credited to John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert, many of the innovations Mauchly brought to the design were already part of an unfinished computer designed by John Vincent Atanasoff in 1937. Mauchly knew of Atanasoff’s work, corresponded with the professor, and even visited him and observed his computer—only to claim the patents for these new concepts for himself, claiming that Atanasoff hadn’t shown him anything of value! The resulting patent battle eventually restored some of the credit to Atanasoff, but not until 1973, nearly 40 years after he’d abandoned his work.
Shockley took the credit
In 1947, physicists John Bardeen, Walter Brattain, and William Shockley created the first working transistor. It was a seminal moment in modern electronics. Shockley, brilliant though he was, only contributed some of the initial concepts—Bardeen and Brattain did most of the work. Unhappy about losing credit to his colleagues, Shockley pushed Bell Labs to issue an order that he be given equal credit and be included in all promotional photographs. As the announcement of their achievement stirred up media interest, the three men posed for a photo in 1948. At the last minute, Shockley sat down at Brattain’s lab desk in order to look like he was the one doing all the work while the other two stood idly by (see the photo here). Neither of his colleagues ever forgave him.
The slug invented video games
The first true video game, Spacewar!, was created at MIT on a PDP-1 by a programmer named Steve Russell, who earned the nickname “Slug” for his habit of procrastinating. True to his name, after laying some groundwork, Russell spent months doing nothing on Spacewar! until his friends acquired several ready-made pieces of code for him to use in the game’s subroutines. He finally completed it in 1962, and thanks to the wonder of the internet, you can still play it today.
Microsoft owes everything to hackers
Today, Microsoft is heavily focused on preventing software piracy, an attitude dating back to the company’s earliest years. In the mid-1970s, long before the development of Windows, Bill Gates was just another computer geek working in his garage in California. When the hobbyist group the Homebrew Computer Club began copying and sharing Altair BASIC, a program Gates had created, the future billionaire was infuriated, and wrote a lengthy letter accusing the members of stealing the software. But in an ironic twist, it was this large-scale piracy that helped make BASIC the universal standard—and eventually led to Microsoft’s dominance of the personal computer market.
The Innovators is packed with stories like these: fascinating anecdotes that come together to form the history of the modern digital age.
Isaacson, author of the acclaimed biography Steve Jobs, has an unparalleled ability to paint vivid portraits of his subjects. He’s also adept at showing how innovation actually works, and bringing to life the process of trial and error that precedes any true breakthrough. Here are just a few of the surprising stories he tells about the men and women who helped create the modern age.
The portrait was hidden
Ada Lovelace, often regarded as the first programmer for her work with Charles Babbage and his Analytical Engine in the 19th century, was the daughter of famed poet Lord Byron. When Byron’s fame turned to infamy due to an incestuous affair with his half-sister, Ada’s mother did all she could to prevent her daughter from following in his footsteps and becoming an artist. She cut off contact between Ada and Lord Byron, even placing a huge shroud over a portrait of the poet in their home, and pushed her daughter to study mathematics. If Byron hadn’t been such a notorious philanderer, the history of computers might have turned out very differently.
The first computer was stolen
Development of ENIAC, the first programmable computer that fits the modern definition of the word, began in 1943. Though work on the machine is credited to John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert, many of the innovations Mauchly brought to the design were already part of an unfinished computer designed by John Vincent Atanasoff in 1937. Mauchly knew of Atanasoff’s work, corresponded with the professor, and even visited him and observed his computer—only to claim the patents for these new concepts for himself, claiming that Atanasoff hadn’t shown him anything of value! The resulting patent battle eventually restored some of the credit to Atanasoff, but not until 1973, nearly 40 years after he’d abandoned his work.
Shockley took the credit
In 1947, physicists John Bardeen, Walter Brattain, and William Shockley created the first working transistor. It was a seminal moment in modern electronics. Shockley, brilliant though he was, only contributed some of the initial concepts—Bardeen and Brattain did most of the work. Unhappy about losing credit to his colleagues, Shockley pushed Bell Labs to issue an order that he be given equal credit and be included in all promotional photographs. As the announcement of their achievement stirred up media interest, the three men posed for a photo in 1948. At the last minute, Shockley sat down at Brattain’s lab desk in order to look like he was the one doing all the work while the other two stood idly by (see the photo here). Neither of his colleagues ever forgave him.
The slug invented video games
The first true video game, Spacewar!, was created at MIT on a PDP-1 by a programmer named Steve Russell, who earned the nickname “Slug” for his habit of procrastinating. True to his name, after laying some groundwork, Russell spent months doing nothing on Spacewar! until his friends acquired several ready-made pieces of code for him to use in the game’s subroutines. He finally completed it in 1962, and thanks to the wonder of the internet, you can still play it today.
Microsoft owes everything to hackers
Today, Microsoft is heavily focused on preventing software piracy, an attitude dating back to the company’s earliest years. In the mid-1970s, long before the development of Windows, Bill Gates was just another computer geek working in his garage in California. When the hobbyist group the Homebrew Computer Club began copying and sharing Altair BASIC, a program Gates had created, the future billionaire was infuriated, and wrote a lengthy letter accusing the members of stealing the software. But in an ironic twist, it was this large-scale piracy that helped make BASIC the universal standard—and eventually led to Microsoft’s dominance of the personal computer market.
The Innovators is packed with stories like these: fascinating anecdotes that come together to form the history of the modern digital age.