Ask HN: What's the best book on the early history of the Internet and/or Web?

19 points·webwielder2··14 comments

Whereby "best" I mean "most pleasing combination of readability, insight, and accuracy"

The Dream Machine is a good read about the vision of J.C.R. Licklider, a man who instigated the work that led to the internet. It's a very well written book and gives great insight into the pre-web era of networking

Amazon link (non affiliate): https://www.amazon.com/dp/1732265119

Reading this now and agree that it's very well-written.

Where wizards stay up late by katie hafner

Highly readable, don't know about insight, don't know about accuracy.

'Innovators' by Walter Isaacson is pretty great when combined with 'The dream machine' as suggested by others.

Where Wizards Stay Up Late: The Origins of the Internet By Katie Hafner & Matthew Lyon

Would be cool if besides the evolution of internet technologies, it also talked about significant events that happened in these various networks. An example could be Linus Torvalds' Usenet posting first announcing Linux.

Walter Isaacson's innovators is that book - yes, it refers to that Usenet posting as well :)

Not strictly what you're asking for, but you might enjoy Microserfs.

The copy I own says "Soon to be a movie" I wonder what ever happened to that. I re-read it for the first time since it came out, it aged way better than Gen-X did for me.

Not a book, but a great video via Steve Blank: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTC_RxWN_xo

The Nudist On The Late Shift is a great one.

The Nat Geo TV series "Valley Of The Boom" was on earlier this year, that was entertaining.

The Dream Machine by M. Mitchell Waldrop

What Will Be - From Old president of MIT

Close to the machine by Ellen Ullman

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