- Paperback: 384 pages
- Publisher: Harper Business; Reprint edition (Oct 3 1996)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0887308554
- ISBN-13: 978-0887308550
- Product Dimensions: 20.6 x 13.5 x 2.4 cm
- Shipping Weight: 272 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (60 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #231,716 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
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.
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Check it out,
By
This review is from: Accidental Empires (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.
1.0 out of 5 stars
This is NOT a funny book,
By A Customer
This review is from: Accidental Empires (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.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Stories of techies and profiteering,
By A Customer
This review is from: Accidental Empires (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.
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