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. Cringely reveals the manias and foibles of these men (they are always men) with deadpan hilarity and cogently demonstrates how their neuroses have shaped the computer business. But Cringely gives us much more than high-tech voyeurism and insider gossip. From the birth of the transistor to the mid-life crisis of the computer industry, he spins a sweeping, uniquely American saga of creativity and ego that is at once uproarious, shocking and inspiring.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Book Description
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Product Description
From Amazon
Robert X. Cringely manages to capture the contradictions and everyday insanity of computer industry empire building, while at the same time chipping away sardonically at the PR campaigns that have built up some very common businesspeople into the household gods of geekdom. Despite some chuckles at the expense of all things nerdy, white, and male in the computer industry, Cringely somehow manages to balance the humor with a genuine appreciation of both the technical and strategic accomplishments of these industry luminaries. Whether you're a hard-boiled Silicon Valley marketing exec fishing for an IPO or just a plain old reader with an interest in business history and anecdotal storytelling, there's something to enjoy here.
From Publishers Weekly
Rich in relevant, entertaining digressions, this breezy but informative history recounts how gifted, maverick "nerds," "hippies" and entrepreneurs like Apple's Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs invented and developed microprocessors and operating systems into today's volatile, ego-driven, highly competitive personal computer industry, in which ever-changing technical standards propel the market. Info World columnist Cringley charges that the astronomical sales of PCs ($70-billion worldwide in 1990) "both created the longest continuous peacetime economic expansion in U.S. history and ended it." While current dominance by IBM spurs competitors to further research and networking, the author predicts that by the year 2000 single chips will render today's PCs obsolete and that of American technology only software will survive.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
Format:Paperback
I ordered this book based on an old review I came across recently. The author writes well. He crafts evocative and insightful stories, leavened with irreverent wit. Although the book is rather dated in parts, it still makes interesting - and at times fascinating - reading. As the old saying goes, "The more things change, the more they stay the same." Likewise with the IT business. If you have an interest in IT, I expect you'll enjoy the book.
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Now, I've read a lot of books and taken something from all of them, good or bad. However, I would have to say this is the only book I ever regret having read. Being in the business and half decent at my work (ego driven dictator in Cringley speak), I found the 300 odd pages of his ranting and raving against anyone with talent and vision a little hard to swallow. Don't get me wrong, it's a fascinating story, but ruined by his poorly camouflaged bitterness at his own failings as an engineer. And no, I'm not Steve Jobs.
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
"Accidental" refers to the fact that a lot of these guys really just loved to play with electronics and computers but for the few for whom everything fell into place perfectly, the reward was wealth beyond their wildest imagination. Read about how incompatible some true tech personalities can be with the mundane reality of the business world; I thoroughly enjoyed the story of the guy who held up the completion of a pivotal product so that he could measure the reflectivity of the ceiling tiles in his office. Contrast with the ego-driven salemen and capitalists who were there simply because there was money to be made and you may find yourself more appreciative of the genuine nature of the "average" brainiac. This book was really written before the dot-com era, but likely the same dramas were played out then and will be played out again some day, with only the names and subject matter changed.
Want to see more reviews on this item?
›
Go to Amazon.com to see all 82 reviews
4.5 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Stories of techies and profiteering
"Accidental" refers to the fact that a lot of these guys really just loved to play with electronics and computers but for the few for whom everything fell into place... Read more
Published on Nov 22 2003
5.0 out of 5 stars
Funny and Informative
Crigenly tells the compelling story of the uprising of a small company becoming a million dollar businesss. Read more
Published on Oct 31 2003 by Eileen Rodriguez
4.0 out of 5 stars
National Inquirer into Computerdom
The book begins by claiming that personal computers and spreadsheets made leveraged buy-outs, and looting company pension plans, possible (p.4). Read more
Published on Feb 13 2003 by Acute Observer
4.0 out of 5 stars
Accidental Empires
Accidental Empires follows the rise of the tech industry. It is written by Robert X. Cringely (not his real name), one of the original founders of Apple computers, and gives a... Read more
Published on Dec 14 2002 by Buck
4.0 out of 5 stars
Entertaining Read
I bought this book after seeing Cringely on 'Triumph of the Nerds' on PBS. Like this show, 'Accidental Empires' deals with the computer industry - specifically the PC revolution... Read more
Published on Nov 7 2002 by Travis J Smith
2.0 out of 5 stars
Daised and Confused
Robert X. Cringley manages to describe all the factors that explain the existance of the computer industry, he gives the who,what,when,why,and the how. Read more
Published on Mar 19 2002 by "auzt1n06"
4.0 out of 5 stars
Laugh out loud funny
I started reading this book while curled up on the couch next to a friend who was trying to watch a soccer match. He finally told me to stop snickering or leave the room. Read more
Published on Dec 5 2001 by frumiousb
5.0 out of 5 stars
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... Read more
Published on Sep 11 2001 by Walter Nicolau
4.0 out of 5 stars
The honeymoon is over.
The world's honeymoon phase with PCs and the fun they can bring is officially over. Here, in all its ugly truth, is the behind-the-silicon-scenes version of the hustlers, missed... Read more
Published on Jun 11 2001 by John S. Harris
4.0 out of 5 stars
Dated but funny and chatty
Accdental Empires is a rather personal book, based on personal experience and first-hand accounts from the personal computer world of the 80's. Read more
Published on Feb 15 2001 by J. F. de Wolff
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Business & Investing > Economics
- Books > Business & Investing > Industries & Professions > High-Tech
- Books > Business & Investing > Management & Leadership > Industrial
- Books > Business & Investing > Management & Leadership > Production & Operations
- Books > History > Americas > United States
- Books > History > United States
- Books > New & Used Textbooks > Business & Finance
- Books > New & Used Textbooks > Computer Science & Information Systems
- Books > Professional & Technical > Accounting & Finance > Economics
- Books > Professional & Technical > Business Management > Management & Leadership > Industrial
- Books > Professional & Technical > Business Management > Management & Leadership > Production & Operations
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
