
Ask HN: Is there a good book on IT/Silicon Valley history? - sebst
Whenever I read about a technology company or a smart mind in the field, and I surf Wikipedia, I am most often left with a feeling of a very small tech world: some of the most interesting technology we use today has been invented in a garage and then been acquired by a &quot;big tech corporation&quot; which itself was likely been founded in another garage. And people involved in those fields are well known amongst each other.
Of course, the valley plays a big role in that field which leads to even fewer distances between the &quot;stories&quot; and thus, more interconnection between them.<p>Since I love to read inspiring biographies, I wonder if there is a biography of the industry-a book about the who is who of tech and&#x2F;or the valley which would make a delightful and inspiring read.<p>Any ideas?
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shklnrj
Well Patrick Collision, the founder of Stripe has an interest in silicon
valley history. He maintains a list of recommended books on this topics on his
personal website here-
[https://patrickcollison.com/svhistory](https://patrickcollison.com/svhistory)

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programd
Not a book but excellent history nontheless "Triumph of the Nerds"
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115398/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115398/)

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LarryMade2
Another great video is American Experience: Silicon Valley

One oldie but goodie is Silicon Valley Fever (1984) - which goes into how the
how things happened to make it the innovation machine for the 60s-80s
(electronics, video games, early computers - pre-internet)

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meagher
Not comprehensive by any means, but _The New New Thing_ , by Michael Lewis,
tells an interesting story about Jim Clark, and his role in founding Silicon
Graphics, Netscape, myCFO, and Healtheon (later called WebMD).

[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_New_Thing](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_New_Thing)

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nyddle
Heard good things about The Silicon Boys, although it seems a bit dated.
[http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1274944.The_Silicon_Boys](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1274944.The_Silicon_Boys)

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natvert
not a book, but an excellent story about the valley's early days: Something
Ventured
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Something_Ventured](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Something_Ventured)
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1737747/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1737747/)

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ryanlm
Not a book, but the computer history museum has a silicon valley exhibit.

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kbrowne
_Fire In The Valley_, by Paul Freiberger and Michael Swaine.

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pneill
Accidental Empires

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BishoyDemian
Currently reading this book. Although not a great fit for "history", but it is
a great story kind of book with a few good points of advice here and there.

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mtmail
Nerds 2.0.1, by Stephen Segaller

