by Dave Moore, 05/31/2020
With the realms of computers, the Internet, and technology in general changing all the time, people often ask how I keep up with it all.
Of course, nobody can keep up with everything, but I work hard to keep up with enough to run a computer service business, teach Internet safety education programs and maintain various industry certifications. One of the major ways for me to keep up with it all is to read books. I read and study lots of books.
With most everyone spending more time at home, there is hopefully more time to read books. Here is a short list of my favorite history books about computers and the Internet. None of them are especially technical, so don’t think you need to be a computer expert to understand and enjoy them.
If you want to know how things got to be the way they are, and where things may be going, these wonderful books are for you. Read one, or read them all; you will be richly rewarded.
“Hackers, heroes of the computer revolution,” by Steven Levy. Back in the “old days,” which weren’t that long ago, the word “hacker” had a different meaning than how it is currently used in today’s news media. To “hack” something simply meant to take a technology and use it in a way for which it was not originally intended. Starting in the late 1950s and going through the ’80s, Levy covers the brilliant and quirky nerds who are the reason most everyone has computers in their homes and carries them in their pockets. Did you know Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were proud to be called “hackers?”
“The Chip: how two Americans invented the microchip and launched a revolution,” by T.R. Reid. An entertaining look at the lives of Nobel Prize-winner Jack Kilby and Intel co-founder Robert Noyce, and how they worked to invent the microprocessor, the device that makes it all possible. The Washington Times called this “the most lucid book ever published on the strange netherworld of computers.”
“The Cuckoo’s Egg: tracking a spy through the maze of computer espionage,” by Clifford Stohl. Wired Magazine called PhD astronomer Clifford Stohl “the mad scientist who wrote the book on how to hunt hackers,” and I would have to agree. Stohl’s amusing account of how he stumbled into the job of managing a computer center at California’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is funny in and of itself, but the tale of how he pursued a 75-cent bookkeeping error, which led him to discover a German spy hacking into American military computers and selling secrets to the Soviet Union’s KGB, is priceless.
“Spam Nation: the inside story of organized cybercrime – from global epidemic to your front door,” by Brian Krebs. I am a big fan of Brian Krebs. His investigative and journalistic skills, and willingness to get neck-deep in the swamp of Internet crime in order to get to the bottom of a story, have always impressed me. “Spam Nation” chronicles his exploration of crooks running networks that disseminate spam emails, child pornographers, credit card scammers, bogus online pharmacies, and dangerous Russian Internet crime cartels. “Spam Nation” is a serious look at the seamy underworld that influences the entire Internet.
“Where Wizards Stay Up Late: the origins of the Internet,” by Katie Hafner and Matthew Lyon. AT&T and IBM said it was impossible; Bill Gates did not see it as a useful tool, yet the Internet happened, and it’s here to stay. “Where Wizards Stay Up Late” tells the fascinating story of the Internet’s invention, and the engineers, researchers and visionaries who made it happen. Did you know the first routers, called Interface Message Processors, were the size of a refrigerator, cost $1 million each, and took a forklift to move around? Today, we buy cheap routers for a few dollars and wonder why they don’t last. This book gets a huge thumbs up from me.
“Future Crimes,” by Marc Goodman, one of the world’s leading authorities on global security. This is an amazing book, and should be required reading for Internet users, period. I knew things were bad before I read this book, but I learned they were much, much worse than I thought. From the books inner flap, we read “Future Crimes provides a mind-blowing glimpse into the dark side of technological innovation and the unintended consequences of our connected world.” Author David Eagleman says, “Future-proof yourself by reading this book.” I agree.
Of course, there are many more books like this on my list of favorites, but these should get you started. Pick one and let me know what you think.
Dave Moore has been fixing computers in Oklahoma since 1984. Founder of the non-profit Internet Safety Group Ltd., he also teaches Internet safety community training workshops. He can be reached at 405-919-9901 or www.internetsafetygroup.com