Revolution in the Valley [Paperback]: The Insanely Great Story of How the Mac Was Made

By Andy Hertzfeld

Book Overview

There was a time, not too long ago, when the typewriter and notebook ruled, and the computer as an everyday tool was simply a vision. Revolution in the Valley traces this vision back to its earliest roots: the hallways and backrooms of Apple, where the groundbreaking Macintosh computer was born. The book traces the development of the Macintosh, from its inception as an underground skunkworks project in 1979 to its triumphant introduction in 1984 and beyond. The stories in Revolution in the Valley come on extremely good authority. That's because author Andy Hertzfeld was a core member of the team that built the Macintosh system software, and a key creator of the Mac's radically new user interface software. One of the chosen few who worked with the mercurial Steve Jobs, you might call him the ultimate insider. When Revolution in the Valley begins, Hertzfeld is working on Apple's first attempt at a low-cost, consumer-oriented computer: the Apple II. He sees that Steve Jobs is luring some of the company's most brilliant innovators to work on a tiny research effort the Macintosh. Hertzfeld manages to make his way onto the Macintosh research team, and the rest is history. Through lavish illustrations, period photos, and Hertzfeld's vivid first-hand accounts, Revolution in the Valley reveals what it was like to be there at the birth of the personal computer revolution. The story comes to life through the book's portrait of the talented and often eccentric characters who made up the Macintosh team. Now, over 20 years later, millions of people are benefiting from the technical achievements of this determined and brilliant group of people.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1449316247
• ISBN13: 9781449316242
• Release Date: November 2011
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media
• Length: 328 Pages
• Weight: 1.28 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 7.7" x 7.6"

Customer Reviews

enjoyable with insight-

This great book is being recorded by Derek Warren as a freely (thanks to Creative Commons licenses) downloadable audio book from Macintosh Folklore Radio at folklore.trideja.com

An instant classic!

As an enthusiastic reader of books covering the history of computing, and a long-time Apple user/admirer, I cannot recommend Hertzfeld's book highly enough. Here is a well-written account full of heart from one of the key players in Apple's history. Hertzfeld does an excellent job of allowing the reader to feel the elation, dismay, and various emotions that he and his co-workers experienced. Moreover, he is able to convey the intracacies of his co-worker's characters: the reader feels as though he knows Hertzfeld, Jobs, and Burrell Smith (in particular) after reading this. If you are wondering what the book is like, check out Hertzfeld's website [...] where these stories were first posted and read a few of them. Then go read this book, you won't be disappointed.

The real thing.

When I worked at Eazel (a startup that Andy Hertzfeld co-founded), some of my fondest memories was when Andy would start informally sharing anecdotes about the early days at Apple. We'd overhear from our cubicles or receive an IRC ping, and we gravitated towards his cubicle to hear more closely. (The occasional office visit from folks like Steve Wozniak and Bill Atkinson only heightened the surreality!) This book contains most of those anecotes, and many more, written in a sincere, egoless, and often courageously introspective style. I admire and appreciate Andy for making this book possible, and for providing the added context of a tapestry of commentaries beyond his own narrative voice.

Must Have for the Apple faithful

What a great book! Much of what is written here can be found on the folklore website that Andy Hertzfield has put together, but this hardcover gem is just one of those things a Macophile has gotta have anyhow. There's a lot of pointy-headed programming talk in here, which may challenge some, but even if you don't understand some of the references, the story they're being told against comes through every time. If you do, so much the better - these guys truly were/are brilliant, and their work deserves to be memorialized. The portrait of Burrell Smith that emerges as such a focal point in the development of the Mac is particularly fascinating. Great effort.

Engaging, fun and inspirational

It's easy to get discouraged as a developer. Time, features, quality, these all turn the thrill of inspiration into the cool slog of a job. But sometimes the fire gets through. That's what happened at Apple with the birth of the Macintosh. And that's what Andy Hertzfeld, one of the primary team members on the first Macintosh, chronicles in this book. The summation of the folklore.org site, this book is a set of about 100 stories. Each running about 3-4 pages on average. Starting with Andy's first day at Apple and ending around the time when Jobs' was ousted in a palace coup. The stories run the gamut from the deep technical to the interpersonal. They are well written and engaging. A must read for those inspired by the original Apple Mac engineers.