In the Beginning...Was the Command Line

by Neal Stephenson

Book Overview

This is "the Word" -- one man's word, certainly -- about the art (and artifice) of the state of our computer-centric existence. And considering that the "one man" is Neal Stephenson, "the hacker Hemingway" (Newsweek) -- acclaimed novelist, pragmatist, seer, nerd-friendly philosopher, and nationally bestselling author of groundbreaking literary works (Snow Crash, Cryptonomicon, etc., etc.) -- the word is well worth hearing. Mostly well-reasoned...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0380815931
• ISBN13: 9780380815937
• Release Date: November 1999
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

To GUI or Not To GUI

Absolutely brilliant book. "In the Beginning..." cleverly disguises itself as a historical account of the nature of the various software platforms. The real meat is the discussion of GUIs (Graphical User Interfaces), the upsides, the downsides and the tension between GUIs and the lack of GUIs. One cannot have this type of discussion without touching on the true nature of mankind. And that is exactly what Mr. Stephenson does. If you prefer organic, seemingly "unstructured" access, go with the command prompt. If you prefer popular & "easy" access with all of its shortcomings, hail the GUI. But be careful, as the folks designing the GUIs are in the business of building filters and facades. If, however, you choose no Graphical User Interface whatsoever, you have sworn yourself to great responsibility and to the integrity of the code!I was mesmerized from the start & totally blown away & surprised by the last 10 pages. I had no idea when I picked it up that this short essay carried such enduring weight.I recommend it to all humans who thirst for knowledge of the Root.ps. don't mess with the kernel, it is a good way to crash your system!

Brilliant - but free elsewhere

I'm surprised to see this "book" for sale here.. you can download it from Neal Stephenson's own website, it comes to about 80 pages if you print it out on letter sized paper.I'm a new convert to Stephenson (I've read both Cryptonomicon and Snow Crash in the past couple of months) and find his writing brilliant. This "book".. really more like a very long essay.. is the only bit of nonfiction writing of Stephenson's that I'm familiar with. While the PC vs Mac, UNIX vs Windows discussions are interesting (I'm a PC user but I'm no techie), what really gets my blood flowing in this work is when Stephenson dares to get "philosophical" -- he's quite good at it. His take on postmodernism had me nodding in agreement and howling with laughter at the same time.

Required reading for all computer users

Warning: I am a die-hard Neal Stephenson fan. If this bothers you, don't read further!That aside, "In the Beginning Was the Command Line" should be required reading for anyone who a) regularly uses a personal computer b) has expressed an opinion on the current DOJ vs. Microsoft case. Most computer users are as unfamiliar with why they use Windows (or Macs) as they are with the history of the elevator. The elevator did not significantly change the world; GUI's & PC's have. I know half of you are already yawning, looking for another book to purchase, but wait...this is a really quick read, & , better yet, it's hysterically funny! Yes, folks, you not only get informed, are given some concepts to contemplate, you actually enjoy the process!Stephenson admits this book is simply an essay, his musings on the 4 main operating systems currently in use (MacOS, Windows, Linux, BeOS) & how they can be viewed in the context of global culture. He gives examples from personal experience, & unlike most techno-geek/hacker types, he doesn't appear to view Bill Gates as the anti-christ (which is probably why some people hate this book). But please, don't let that scare you off. This book is an easy read for those who have never typed a single line of code in their life, while still being thought provoking for even the "Morlocks" (Stephenson's term) of the world.Let's face it: if you're reading this, you're an Internet user. Thus, you use computers. You need the information in this book. It's only $6. BUY IT!

QED

I had read and enjoyed the author's previous book, "Cryptonomicon" and was impressed with the amount of technical discussion he included (and the insight and detail he included about the Seattle and Silicon Valley tech lifestyle). I had often wondered if there was any "there" there. This book proves it. While I felt the book stopped short by only discussing the evolution of operating systems since the advent of PCs (I go back a lot farther; and there were other PC OSs that could have been mentioned), I thought he did an excellent job of capturing the recent evolution and the related technological-social debate. In fact, beyond the depiction of the technical underpinnings of the current OS wars, and beyond the knowledge of Seattle/Silicon Valley geek life-as-we-know-it (on a par with Douglas Coupland's Microserfs), the other reason I really enjoyed this book is that Mr. Stephenson managed to express in writing the very complex and convoluted feelings that I have about the whole Microsoft/anti-Microsoft debate (and have not been able to adequately express to my friends). So I have been recommending that they read the book instead.

Outstanding metaphor for our current paradigm

This essay posits one of the best metaphors for our society today. The use of GUI in place of the command line on our computers perfectly sums up what is wrong with us today: we want everything explained to us in simple, attractive, neat little packaged terms. And we'll PAY for it! After all, only someone who wants a pretty format would buy this book instead of getting it from Neal's own web site (where it is FREE! ). - This review refers to the online version of the text.