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Where Wizards Stay Up Late: The Origins of the Internet
by
Katie Hafner (Goodreads Author)
Twenty five years ago, it didn't exist. Today, twenty million people worldwide are surfing the Net. "Where Wizards Stay Up Late" is the exciting story of the pioneers responsible for creating the most talked about, most influential, and most far-reaching communications breakthrough since the invention of the telephone. In the 1960's, when computers where regarded as mere g...more
Hardcover, 0 pages
Published
January 21st 1998
by Turtleback Books
(first published 1996)
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The story of the various interlocking aspects of the internet isn't readily understood by the average user of its technologies. In fact, it would probably be safe to assume that most users believe that the origins of the internet came about in the late 1990s. Even with the often misrepresented quote from then-Presidential candidate Al Gore, the underlying technologies that comprise the internet remain a solid mystery to the typical internet denizen. "Where Wizards Stay Up Late" provides a wide-a...more
I enjoy a good history of technology/history of technical communication narrative, and this is one. The authors' work in the early chapters is especially good--the narrative and conflict and central figures are well-established and the 'story of the Internet' is very engaging. The last chapter tries to tie up a lot of loose ends as the ARPAnet shifts to the assorted networks that would lead to the Internet, and shows the wear of trying to do so much in so little time, and that's a limitation of...more
Books like this and others such as The Soul of A New Machine, Accidental Empires and even Hackers are all all fine books. They show the excitement that comes from joining pure science with engineering at a time when knowledge and technical advances allow production of cool new products.
But the downside of these books for me is that they show that the thrill of discovery is real, but it is the nature of technological advances that they never end, so the story can rarely finish with a dynamic cre...more
But the downside of these books for me is that they show that the thrill of discovery is real, but it is the nature of technological advances that they never end, so the story can rarely finish with a dynamic cre...more
I got turned onto this book because I read an article rebutting the central premise of a Wall Street Journal article about how private enterprise rather than government investment in basic research brought around the Internet. This book was cited as a definitive book about the beginnings of the Internet, so I gave it a spin.
The first thing to understand is that this book is about the very basics of the creation of the Internet, the connections across networks. It only describes the initial conne...more
The first thing to understand is that this book is about the very basics of the creation of the Internet, the connections across networks. It only describes the initial conne...more
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This well-told narrative is really a piece of long-form journalism, about the various nerds in the U.S. and U.K. who created the technology behind what we now call the internet. It's full of surprising anecdotes and likeable, interesting characters .. which as I've said before makes it harder to rate these kinds of books, writers who use real people as characters have a leg up. They also have a responsibility, and in this case we get a nicely balanced group of portraits, not without some warts,...more
This was a good book but, it was kind of a mess. Sometimes things were happening chronologically other times autobiographically. During the autobiographical portions they tend to throw a lot of names around as though you would already know who they were. A good example is when Douglas Engelbart is mentioned for the first time they reference him only casually as attending a meeting with some of the engineers and taking a one line quote from him. Considering all the important work he was doing at...more
About the origins and development of the internet (or rather, its predecessors), the technology involved, and the people and personalities whose brilliance and inspiration drove the movement. Very exciting for a lay reader- I've always taken the net for granted, expecting it to perform without a hitch and deliver instantaneously.
This book has helped me appreciate the mechanisms and technology behind this massive organism better. A very light read, focused a lot on the individuals and their quir...more
This book has helped me appreciate the mechanisms and technology behind this massive organism better. A very light read, focused a lot on the individuals and their quir...more
I picked this book up because I love reading about how things I take for granted come to be. Books like Tears of Mermaids or The Facebook Effect, or anything that tells the story behind the story. Where Wizards Stay Up Late did not disappoint. The book follows the lives and discoveries of the small group of men (sadly, no women were involved!) who created what we know now as the internet.
Of course, they didn’t realize that’s exactly what they were doing. In the 50s and 60s, government-funded com...more
Of course, they didn’t realize that’s exactly what they were doing. In the 50s and 60s, government-funded com...more
Fascinating history of ARPANET, and, by extension, the origins of the internet. Also contains good biographical sketches of key players, including Vint Cerf, Bob Kahn, Bob Metcalfe, etc. Begins with an overview of the packet switching approach that would come to define modern networking, covering the work done by Paul Baran at RAND and Donald Davies at Britain's National Physics Laboratory.
Explains how BBN (a company in Cambridge, MA) won the ARPA contract to set up connections between computer...more
Explains how BBN (a company in Cambridge, MA) won the ARPA contract to set up connections between computer...more
What a fascinating read. I couldn't put the book down. I ended up reading the entire book in one sitting.
From early meetings discussing the need to link distant computers together, all the way through the development of HTML and Mosaic (the first browser) this book details not only the technologies that were developed, but also the people and organizations that made it all happen.
It is written so even a person with no background in the underlying hardware, software, and protocols can read it an...more
From early meetings discussing the need to link distant computers together, all the way through the development of HTML and Mosaic (the first browser) this book details not only the technologies that were developed, but also the people and organizations that made it all happen.
It is written so even a person with no background in the underlying hardware, software, and protocols can read it an...more
Quite an interesting history.
In the late 50's Ike arranged for a group of scientists to hang out and do science stuff. This group was was called, ARPA. Advance Research Projects Agency. They had a thing for computers and in the mid 60's set up a network to interconnect 4 universities. This was done from scratch. From that they created packet switching, gateways, routers, TCP/IP and Ethernet. All this was reached in the mid 70's. Freaks me out they did all this Forty plus years ago.
The book was v...more
In the late 50's Ike arranged for a group of scientists to hang out and do science stuff. This group was was called, ARPA. Advance Research Projects Agency. They had a thing for computers and in the mid 60's set up a network to interconnect 4 universities. This was done from scratch. From that they created packet switching, gateways, routers, TCP/IP and Ethernet. All this was reached in the mid 70's. Freaks me out they did all this Forty plus years ago.
The book was v...more
A bit dull... kinda skimmed it towards the end. Could have used more dramatic embellishment. Creation of the first interoperable long distance packet-switching network was a remarkable achievement, but The Story of RFC on Standard 1234 isn't exactly brimming with human interest.
I read this other book about the creation of telegraph networks, The Victorian Internet. It was much more entertaining. In that book, I learned about these old school 'telegraph hackers' who could put their tongues to a...more
I read this other book about the creation of telegraph networks, The Victorian Internet. It was much more entertaining. In that book, I learned about these old school 'telegraph hackers' who could put their tongues to a...more
This is just such a fantastic book. It benefits from being fuelled by an incredibly interesting true-life story! The story of how a key component of the eventual Internet was created is fascinating, and essential reading for any computer or web scientist.
It is written well enough that the technical parts are understandable to a layman, but also trigger ideas and inspiration in an expert techie. Some sections are written a little sloppily, so it takes a bit of concentration and back tracking (noo...more
It is written well enough that the technical parts are understandable to a layman, but also trigger ideas and inspiration in an expert techie. Some sections are written a little sloppily, so it takes a bit of concentration and back tracking (noo...more
Dec 02, 2010
Nick Black
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
read-multiple-times,
snap-crackle-pop-science
Read first in 2003, as supplementary material to CS3251 (Networking I). Three stars worth of harmless, chipper history, and an extra star for a great title. Much better than Hafner's other well-known book, "Cyberpunk: Outlaws and Hackers on the Computer Frontier," which is to be avoided. Really good material about BBN, the IMP's (I remember quoting this book in 2008 regarding the original 56kbps AT&T leased lines between the Honeywell DDP-316s, and impressing the hell out of an older coworke...more
I really enjoyed this book, more than I thought I would. Extremely interesting. Must read for anyone who's interested at all in the internet and computer science and the history of either one or both. This book puts things in perspective and makes you realize a lot of the "big names" of today are not the brilliant visionaries some would have you believe. These guys at ARPA and BBN, and the various related organizations truly were "wizards" and were ground-breaking geniuses who, as early as the l...more
Comprehensive overview of where the Internet came from and how it grew. And no, I'm not going to go into any dumbass Al Gore jokes here, and I hope anybody else reviewing this book likewise refrains. ;-) Lots of goodies in here, such as the origins of the "@" symbol and much of the symbolic code. Debunks a lot of the urban mythology and names the somewhat unsung heroes who developed this marvelous invention upon which we all have come to depend. And it finally answered my longtime question: "jus...more
A good retelling of the history of the Internet. The book focuses on the networking revolution that made it all possible, and because of this, it doesn't have time to cover some of the changes made that led to the real surge in the popularity of the net, e.g. the Mosaic web browser. There are other books for that era though, and this book provides a very detailed and concise description of the main problems that had to be overcome in order to get a bunch of different types of computers to be abl...more
Truthfully, I found the humanizing of the subject unnecessary. Especially because it only hinted at rather than focusing thoroughly upon the social and political issues of the time, which is really what the humanizing would have been good for. Instead it's a weird blend of biography, anecdote, and technical information that failed to actually hold my attention. The information is good, as is the timeline, but I think it missed an opportunity to really analyze this paradigm shift.
A nice (if sometimes a little boring) run-through of the history and personalities that brought packet-switching and the Internet into being. So many inventions are created when people ignored those who said something couldn't be done and just decided to try it out. Perhaps that explains why so many graduate students (who have not yet grown a protective layer of cynicism) are able to create new things (and they certainly created them during this period!). Make no mistake, this is NOT "Hackers" o...more
The book is almost a fascinating read (there are some pretty boring moments that focus on bureaucracy and other not-so-relevant things). It's a good account of the creation of ARPANET, the initial problems in creating the Internet, the hardware and software people worked with (I would've appreciated some more depth on some of the technical parts, but that's easily solved with some googling) and for the laymen it seems like the best book to understand the ideas of the Internet.
If you dislike publications such as People Magazine, you will not like this book.
If you believe that a history book should be well organized along either thematic or chronological lines, you will not like this book.
If you think that a book about the history of technology should include details about the evolution of that technology, you will not like this book.
If you believe that every non-fiction book deserves a good copy editor who will eliminate pointless discursions, you will not like this b...more
If you believe that a history book should be well organized along either thematic or chronological lines, you will not like this book.
If you think that a book about the history of technology should include details about the evolution of that technology, you will not like this book.
If you believe that every non-fiction book deserves a good copy editor who will eliminate pointless discursions, you will not like this b...more
Jan 05, 2013
Savvas Katseas
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
non-fiction,
technology
Πολύ όμορφο βιβλίο που περιγράφει τις ανάγκες που οδήγησαν στην εφεύρεση του ARPAnet, τους πρωτοπόρους προγραμματιστές και τεχνικούς που το τρέχανε και τα προβλήματα που αντιμετώπισαν, την εντυπωσιακή επανάσταση που έφερε στον κόσμο των υπολογιστών και την σταδιακή αντικατάστασή του από το TCP/IP.
Δεν πρόκειται να βρεις κάτι εδώ εκτός κι αν καυλώνεις με τα δίκτυα και τους υπολογιστές γενικότερα. Αν όμως την βρίσκεις έτσι, είναι ένα θαυμάσιο βιβλίο-φόρος τιμής, και θα 'πρεπε να το βάλεις στη λίστα...more
Δεν πρόκειται να βρεις κάτι εδώ εκτός κι αν καυλώνεις με τα δίκτυα και τους υπολογιστές γενικότερα. Αν όμως την βρίσκεις έτσι, είναι ένα θαυμάσιο βιβλίο-φόρος τιμής, και θα 'πρεπε να το βάλεις στη λίστα...more
I really enjoyed this historical tale of the invention of the Internet. Some myths get busted along the way. For one thing, the Internet has nothing to do with what you've been told was the reason for its invention. The decisions made many years ago with much simpler computers and on a trusted network still affect the Internet today. If you enjoy stories about the Internet and computing, you'll certainly enjoy this book.
This is a pretty no-frills accounting of the origins of the internet, which is a little strange considering how frills-worthy the topic is. Maybe the authors were a wee touch too concerned about not swamping his lay readers with technical detail, and that made them self-conscious about adding in too many anecdotal nerd-moments, for fear that they might be perceived as dumbing-down the material. Frankly, I kind of wish they'd erred too far on both of those spectra: included more technical data *a...more
Fascinating account of the history of the Internet. I was reminded that I had read this book yesterday when I saw a video about the history of the Internet. The video ascribes a much stronger role to some organizations in GB and France than I recall reading about in this book, which I found very interesting.
http://vimeo.com/2696386
http://vimeo.com/2696386
Pretty good read, the last third of the book was the best to me. I consider myself a geek or nerd in disguise and to me the first two thirds of the book were a little too dry or text book like for someone only casually interested in the beginning of the net, so IMHO the wizards part was a little misleading in that it usually brings to mind more exciting action !!
Still it was chock full of info and well worth your time.
Still it was chock full of info and well worth your time.
A solid read, I've used it for papers in two classes so far. It is a through look at the development of the internet, from the 1960's to the 1989. Those astute netziens among you will note that that's is roughly the timeframe of ARPAnet, and indeed, the book does not get into the public access period of the internet.
What an amazing read. I picked up this book out of the sheer interest of learning about the origins of networking, namely the ARPANET and the Internet.
It never occurred to me that this could be so catching and interesting. The authors made an incredible work of research (just check the size of the bibliography section) and made such a work writing it all down in about 300 pages.
From the creation of the ARPA (Advanced Research Projects Agency) to the creation of the World Wide Web, not forgettin...more
It never occurred to me that this could be so catching and interesting. The authors made an incredible work of research (just check the size of the bibliography section) and made such a work writing it all down in about 300 pages.
From the creation of the ARPA (Advanced Research Projects Agency) to the creation of the World Wide Web, not forgettin...more
If you want to know how the Internet came to be, read this. You will be dropped off way in the past before computers and taken all the way to near-present-day, and when you're done you will have a deep respect for the people who made the Internet possible and just how damn hard it was.
Mar 29, 2013
Mike Nelson
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
technology,
georgetown
I have been using this book in my master's level class, "What's Shaping the Internet," at Georgetown for five years. It's essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the origins of the Internet. All the key characters involved are included--and captured in detail.
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Katie Hafner was on staff at The New York Times for ten years, where she remains a frequent contributor, writing on healthcare and technology. She has also worked at Newsweek and BusinessWeek, and has written for The New York Times Magazine, Esquire, Wired, The New Republic, The Huffington Post, and O, The Oprah Magazine. She is the author of five previous works of nonfiction covering a diverse ra...more
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