I'm presently reading What the Dormouse Said: How the Sixties Counterculture Shaped the Personal Computer Industry by John Markoff. Its nothing to do with libraries either and I can't put it down. It discusses the impact of some of the luminaries of the computer age in the 50's and 60's and how California also affected them. I was previously a historian in my undergrad days, so some of this stuff is amazing, as it touches to area's I enjoy (computers and history). Reading about Doug Engelbart's* presentation in 1968 and the way it impacted just underlines that Xerox Parc and intel didn't invent the personal computer in a vacuum.
Also, as I was fortunate enough to work on the documentary 'in search of the valley' it made me notice how fortunate I was to meet some of these guys and how california has made the personal computer so ubiquitous. Well, this is beginning to sounds like some gushing love letter from a pre-pubescent rock fan to there band. But get this book. It really does give a great story and history lesson.
*Engelbart btw invented the mouse along with many other things.
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