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Where wizards stay up late
the origins of the Internet
First published 1996 · 307 pages
A captivating, behind-the-scenes journey into the late-night labs where eccentric visionaries quietly wired the modern world together.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like pulling up a chair in a buzzing, fluorescent-lit laboratory in the 1960s, surrounded by brilliant, eccentric minds on the verge of a massive breakthrough. The narrative moves at a brisk, engaging clip, transforming what could be a dry technical history into a deeply human story of collaboration, rivalry, and happy accidents. The prose is journalistic and accessible, effortlessly translating complex engineering concepts into a thrilling tale of discovery. It captures an optimistic, pioneering mood, steeped in the excitement of boundless possibility. Perfect for tech enthusiasts and history buffs, it delights anyone who wants to understand the quirky, visionary personalities who stayed up late to quietly build the foundation of our connected modern world.
- Mood
- intellectual
- buzzing
- optimistic
- late-night-lab
- Tone
- journalistic
- engaging
- appreciative
- earnest
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- visionary thinking · collaborative innovation · technological dawn · human ingenuity
- The writing
- Clear, character-driven, and highly accessible, translating dense technical history into a compelling human narrative.
- The arc
- Moves from the quiet curiosity of early theoretical problem-solving to the thrilling, world-expanding realization of a connected globe.
- Who it's for
- Tech enthusiasts and history buffs who love character-driven stories about the eccentric minds behind world-changing innovations.
About the book
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 giant calculators, J.C.R. Licklider at MIT saw them as the ultimate communications devices. With Defense Department funds, he and a band of visionary computer whizzes began work on a nationwide, interlocking network of computers. Taking readers behind the scenes, Where Wizards Stay Up Late captures the hard work, genius, and happy accidents of their daring, stunningly successful venture.
Description from Open Library.
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