Customer Reviews

Hackers

5 star:		(45)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

If you saw Robert X Cringeley's "Triumph Of The Nerds" on PBS, this book pre-dates it by *years* Many of the people RXC mentions are here in the book. This book's a wild and wooly romp through the little-known side of the True History of computers and the unsung heroes who, only for the glory of solving a problem or impressing their friends brought us to the revolution/evolution of the Personal Computer. I got this when it was first published in hardcover and have long since lost the dust jacket and have read it countless times.

Hackers, by Steven Levy, should be required reading for anyone who programs computers for a living. Starting from the late 1950s, when the first hackers wrote code for the TX-0 and every instruction counted, to the early 1980s, when computers fully entered the consumer mainstream, and it was marketing rather than hacking which mattered. Levy divides this time into three eras: that of the 'True Hackers,' who lived in the AI lab at MIT and spent most of their time on the PDP series, the 'Hardware Hackers,' mostly situated in Silicon Valley and responsible for enhancing the Altair and creating the Apple, and the 'Game Hackers,' who were also centered in California; expert at getting the most out of computer hardware, they were also the first to make gobs and gobs of money hacking.

The reason everyone who codes should read this book is to gain a sense of history. Because the field changes so quickly, it's easy to forget that there is a history, and, as Santayana said, "Those who do not remember the past are doomed to repeat it." It's also very humbling, at least for me, to see what kind of shenanigans were undertaken to get the last bit of performance from a piece of hardware that was amazing for its time, but now would be junked without a thought. And a third takeaway was the transformation that the game industry went through in the early 80s: first you needed technical brilliance, because the hardware was slow and new techniques needed to be discovered. However, at some point, the hard work was all done, and the business types took over. To me, this corresponds to the 1997-2001 time period, with the web rather than games being the focus.

That's one of my beefs--the version I read was written in 1983, and republished, with a new afterword in 1993. So, there's no mention of the new '4th generation' of hackers, who didn't have the close knit communities of the Homebrew Computer Club or the AI lab, but did have a far flung, global fellowship via email and newsgroups. It would be a fascinating read.

Beyond the dated nature of the book, Levy omits several developments that I think were fundamental to the development of the hacker mindset. There's only one mention of Unix in the entire book, and no mention of C. In fact, the only languages he mentions are lisp, basic and assembly. No smalltalk, and no C. I also feel that he overemphasizes 'hacking' as a way that folks viewed and interacted with the world, without defining it. For instance, he talks about Ken Williams, founder of Sierra Online, 'hacking' the company, when it looked to me like it was simple mismanagement.

For all that, it was a fantastic read. The more you identify with the geeky, single males who were in tune with the computer, the easier and more fun a read it will be, but I still think that everyone who uses a computer could benefit from reading Hackers, because of the increased understanding of the folks that we all depend on to create great software.

Don't read this book as an A to Z or a history book. Read it if you want to FEEL the beginning. Did you ever hack something? Ever flip a character bit in an early role-playing game? Ever write assembly code on a PDP-11? Ever own an Apple II? The three eras covered in this book really take you into the experience and give you a sense of what it was like in the early days of this industry. And Stephen Levy is a great writer. I read everything he writes cover to cover with ease and interest.

This book is a must read for any self-respecting computer geek or anyone who is even mildly interested in the history of computers. In age when the term hacking is synonymous with computer crimes and the computer world is dominated by Microsoft, it is fun to read about the glory days and the true meaning of hacking. These guys started with nothing but machines and built their own software tools from scratch, the things they did laid the ground work for a revolution and it has had lasting effects on every aspect of our lives. The only downer is that I felt that Levy should have made the entire book about the MIT hackers, they are the most compelling characters in the book and where doing the most important and technically challenging work. The rest of the book can't maintian the coolness of the MIT hackers, even though it does cover some interesting people. I think that Levey did a good job in not dumbing down the subject matter and he didn't try and over dramatize the characters and events. This is a book that probably has a cult following and if it doesn't it should.

The first part of this book, dealing with the original hackers of the TMRC is great, it makes the book worth buying. Much of the rest is just historical revisionism where (much like Eric Raymond and the "Jargon File") the author chooses what he wants to tells you and ignores pertinant people, events and facts that get in the way of his picture of the history of hackerdom.

This is a good book but you need to take it with a grain of salt and realize that this is only Stephen Levys version of hacker history.

This book contains a lot of information resource and even references to other resource/books.
I found Levy description of hackers life and point of view is excellent.
This book isn't designed to be read only by IT people (even if for those is a greay job), but it's great dealing with hackers philosophy (especially on the first and last part) which, in my opinion, cloud be applied to every-day life.
Well, hackers aren't criminal and the book outline this. After reading the book you would had learn their point of view, and maybe you would convert to their philosophy.
I gave him 4 star JUST because I would had preferred a longer talk on MIT period.

To be honest, it's been a number of years since I read Hackers, having read it soon after it's initial publication in the '90's. However, I have some lasting impressions, which may amplify, or at least supplement, several of the previous reviews. First and foremost, I found Hackers to be a facinating story - one with which I would think the majority of the public would be unfamiliar. Levy does an excellent job of documenting the lives and times of the early computer pioneers, and makes those seminal days live again - even for those of us who wouldn't know a byte from a bite from a bight. However, Levy has a tendency for hyperbole, and in Hackers, he gives that tendency full rein. Levy's prose are rife with phrases like '...these brilliant geniuses' and '...such giant intellects.' I'm working from memory, so those are not directs quotes, but I think you get the idea. The other negative impression I have, is Levy's unnecessary dwelling on his characters' personal foibles. I still recall with disgust (alright... mild disgust, but disgust, nonetheless) his description of - if I remember correctly - what were called "blatties." Over all however, I loved "Hackers" and would recommend it to almost anyone without reservation. It's a great read. Oh... there is just one more thing I remember; sweet and sour bitter melon (shudder). So when will the movie be released? ;)

Borring......This book had me asleep, I struggled through the first chapters hoping it would get better, but after a few chapters I had to give up.

if you are interested in the hacker community and not this completely too detailed borring history, buy "masters of Deception" A much better book

This book is WONDERFULL. I would suggest it for anyone that is interested in computers and the hacker way of life. It has really opened my mind up A-LOT!!!

A really boring book I got here. Many words but it's a really good effort by the authors and the ppl involved. Hope to finish it someday...