Walter Isaacson

As a lover of history and with a background in the semiconductor industry, I found the first half of this book extremely interesting and engaging. The book follows the chronological progression of invention from the earliest calculating machines through to IBM mainframes, PCs and finally onto the Internet and World Wide Web of today. The insights an observations of the early pioneers such as Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage were truly inspired and prescient. Isaacson’s primary thesis is that true progress is achieved through collaboration, not the sole genius inventor in the basement. He proves his theory by describing some of the greatest technological collaborations in history, Bardeen and Brattain (transistor), Noyce and Moore (Intel), Jobs and Wozniak (Apple) to name a few. The right mix of individuals on a team is also essential, the aforementioned pairings for example having a brilliant inventor or “idea man” and a highly driven and motivated technical manager. Spectacular failures are also borne out by individuals unwilling or unable to share information and cooperate (Atanasoff and Shockley spring to mind).

The book really held my attention until the invention of the PC and I enjoyed the Gates and Jobs stories. However, I found the story of the Internet and World Wide Web not as engaging, and I found myself getting a little bored towards the end of the book. Nevertheless, Isaacson does a good job and there are plenty of qualifying notes and references for follow up or more detailed reading. Definitely worth a read if the subject is of interest.
… (més)