The Dream Machine
by M. Mitchell Waldrop · first published 2001
83% recommend17% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Well-researched history of computing from time-sharing and ARPA through Xerox PARC, told through J.C.R. Licklider. Ties together scattered strands and the ideas driving the pioneers; suits readers wanting depth.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
"The year is 1962. More than a decade will pass before personal computers emerge from the garages of Silicon Valley, and a full thirty years before the Internet explosion of the 1990s. The word computer still has an ominous tone, conjuring up the image of a huge, intimidating device hidden away in an overlit, air-conditioned basement, relentlessly processing punch cards for some large institution: them. Yet, sitting in a nondescript office in Robert McNamara's Pentagon, a quiet forty-seven-year-old civilian is already planning the revolution that will change forever the way computers are perce
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Exceptions are rare enough to get called out for praise. A few: Digital Apollo, by David Mindell (development of Apollo guidance and avionics generally) The Dream Machine by Mitchell Waldrop (technical development leading up to the Arpanet, thence to the Internet) Colossus, the secrets of Bletchley Park's codebreaking computers, by Jack Copeland et al. Unfortunately,…
on “The Tears of Donald Knuth” ↗I've been reading the book he mentions, "The Dream Machine", by Mitchell Waldrop. It has been a great read so far (I'm a little past the point of the creation of ARPA), particularly the section about John McCarthy developing LISP and conceiving of the architecture…
on “What made Xerox PARC special? Who else today is like them?” ↗…of the real major driving forces behind the P.C. as we know it. An interesting account (as well as a great deal more about the rest of the history of modern computers) is documented in the book "The Dream Machine" [1], which I highly recommend if you find this sort of stuff interesting. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PARC_(company) [1] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/722412.The_Dream_Machine
on “Xerox calls off $6.1B sale to Fujifilm” ↗Anyone interested in this kind of history should read The Dream Machine by M. Mitchell Waldrop.
on “Arpanet, Part 3: The Subnet” ↗The Dream Machine: J.C.R. Licklider and the Revolution That Made Computing Personal It's an extremely well written book, starting from the very beginning at the time of WWII, tracing people, ideas, struggles, and achievements…
on “Ask HN: Computer Science/History Books?” ↗Two excellent technology history books I read in 2013 are _Dream Machine_ by M. Mitchell Waldrop and _Computing in the Middle Ages_ by Severo Ornstein. _Dream Machine_ in particular tied together many strands that I had previously explored separately; it's a far-ranging,…
on “Ask PG/HN: Recommended reading on the history of technology” ↗The Dream Machine: J.C.R. Licklider and the Revolution That Made Computing Personal. I read this book 8 years ago and I still feel like quoting it sometimes. It's not just a biography but a well researched work on the…
on “Ask HN: How to learn about the history of computing?” ↗I would add Steven Levy's Hackers to the list if you want to go back to the MIT years, and Mitchell Waldrop's The Dream Machine if you want to go back to the DARPA years. Both of those were totally foundational to my understanding of the social history of what computer science is. What I think is so important about history like…
on “Eric Raymond's 'The Cathedral and the Bazaar' Turns 19” ↗Beranek and BBN both make an appearance in Mitch Waldrop's excellent book "The Dream Machine," which is in theory a biography of J.C.R. Licklider (who was mentioned in the obit), but in practice a history of computing from the 1930s onward. It has been out of print for some time, but a Kindle…
on “Leo Beranek, an engineer who helped build Arpanet, has died” ↗The best all around book about the ARPA/Parc research community is Mitchell Waldrop's "The Dream Machine". Covers pretty much everything pretty much outstandingly.
on “Ask HN: Where can one learn about the history of the internet and the protocols?” ↗The best book about the ARPA/Parc research in the 60s and 70s is "The Dream Machine" by Mitchell Waldrop.
on “Ask HN: What are you reading?” ↗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…
on “Ask HN: What's the best book on the early history of the Internet and/or Web?” ↗All of the Walter Isaacson biographies are fantastic. To understand how modern digital ecosystem came to be I cannot think of a better combination than Isaacson's "Innovators" and "The Dream Machine" by Waldrop.
on “Ask HN: Biographies recommendations – both Westerner and Non-westerner” ↗'The Dream Machine' by M. Mitchell Waldrop chronicles the trials and tribulations of the people who built the first computers and computer networks. Great read if you want to learn more about how computing and the internet…
on “Ask HN: What has your work taught you that other people don't realize?” ↗The best book about the ARPA/Parc research community (Parc sprouted from ARPA) is "The Dream Machine" by Mitchell Waldrop: it is both the most complete and most accurate. "Dealers of Lightning" is at the next level but far from the bottom. Its flaws are too much "Heroes' Journey" and a very complex…
on “Larry Tesler Has Died” ↗