Important attention paid to the ideological stance of Silicon Valley leaders which Cohen describes as a combination between hacker’s arrogance and an entrepreneur’s greed. The stakes are high: Silicon Valley’s leaders are shaping our world, even if their legitimacy is tied only to market success.
quick, interesting read. informative rebuttal to the libertarian bootstraps myths a lot of folks around here tout, highlighting how network effects and elite institutions (not sheer brains and bootstraps!) enabled the runaway success of a few lucky hackers and financiers. in fact, stanford plays alm ...more
Breezy journalistic coverage of various tech moguls. Could use more analysis, as Jasmine Sun's GR review says. Most of it will be familiar if you've been following tech news but there are some fun tidbits. ...more
I feel a little awkward posting this review on a site that is owned by Amazon.com as Jeff Bezos plays a somewhat supporting role in this book. It's kinda like being invited to a party and dissing the host's choice of shower curtains.
But at any rate, here are my takeaways from the book: since the ea ...more
Uma biografia de várias personalidades do Silicon Valley, passando pelos primeiros pioneiros, Bill Gates e Bezos, até Peter Thiel e Zuckerberg. Todos homens, claro. Vários dos pontos do livro já foram cobertos por outros que recomendo mais, como The Four: The Hidden DNA of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, a...more
this was really interesting & gave a pretty broad overview of the history of silicon valley and the origins of big tech companies. Cohen gives some solid critiques of the values of silicon valley “know-it-alls” (especially those that lead to terrible working conditions for their staff) but unfortuna ...more
".. a prescription for a just society that begins with 'a commitment to the local, the plural, the small scale, and the active.' We can't tolerate an Internet, or a society, led by a few self-proclaimed geniuses claiming to serve mankind." Page 208, The Know-It-Alls by Noam Cohen
This was an easy read but came across as extremely hostile towards tech entrepreneurs. Read it, enjoy it, but then, seek out other perspectives. ...more
I picked up this book because I'd previously read and enjoyed Noam Cohen's coverage of Wikipedia for the New York Times, WIRED, and other publications. THE KNOW-IT-ALLS goes back to the early days, to the computer lab of computer scientist John McCarthy in the 1970s. The hacker ethos at the time was ...more
I have a driving interest in this subject as I live and work in the Bay area where the presence of these internet giants are ubiquitous. The book provides informative profiles on the careers of many of the key movers and shakers. Although I am very familiar with some of these individuals, I found th ...more
The TKIA by Noam Cohen is a critique of Silicon Valley and its leaders. The main premise is that these leaders ideology - libertarianism - is in its essence bad and leads to the terrible reality that we live in now.
The book covers 11 of the main players, past and present, beginning with John McCarth ...more
A stunningly well-researched book about the rise of Silicon Valley and its role as a strong force in American life. The power of the internet and start-ups has grown immeasurably in the past 30 years and Cohen does not shy away from detailing h ...more
A scathing, thought-proking critique of the hypocricies of Silicon Valley and the libertarian idealism that drives its thinking despite its publically funded roots. Cohen provides criticism harshly and unevenly, often to the personalities that characterize big tech while failing to proporationately ...more
The Know-It-All’s is relevant for today’s time because of the foundations of tech giants it presents through the history of Stanford and its influences as well as the evolution of the web to its commercialized form.
What I found most interesting about the Know-It-Alls was the size and speed these tec ...more
I loved the style used by the author to practically write short biographies of each of the tech giants he talked about. I particularly think that the brightest should indeed rule the world, a view that seems to bother Mr. Noam.
Above everything, this book is a gem that only personal political views c ...more
Very interesting read describing the rise of Silicon Valley and it main players and geniuses and billionaires and its effect on society's class, economy, and politics. Well written and not too political or opinionated. ...more