Loved it, very insightful

I had a very good time listening to this. I do wish though that the updates would have been more events that happened after the book was originally released in stead of the auditorial notes at the end. Also - 1 star because(although not Levi's fault) I really wanted to punch Felsenstein in the nads for being annoying and one track minded

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hacker

the best truly great 👍 what can I say do more great great great 👍

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Solid and enjoyable.

Starts really strong kind of started to lose interest at the end. Would recommend listening in multiple chunks instead of consistently until finished.

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An inspiring telling of a crazy story

This is a fun book, and inspiring. Levy collects a brilliant cast of characters and brings the “computer revolution” to life. The book focuses more on spinning a bewitching tale than on explaining the nature of the world. If Levy had somehow managed to weave in some critical analysis of his subject, it would be an easy five stars. If you want to learn the names and dates of some key figures in personal computing, this is your book. If you want to understand what it means to live in a computerised society, you should look elsewhere.

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Interesting, but often dull. Mediocre narration.

Parts of this are very interesting, if you enjoy the subject matter; unfortunately many sections are insufferably dull due to a lack of storytelling, as it is written more like a timeline of facts, with the barrage of names at the start being particularly obnoxious in audio format. I can't say I was keen on the narrator either and may have preferred to have read the book myself.

Enjoyed learning about the hacker-ethic and philosophy along with a lot of the older history I was unaware of, as well as the early gaming development in the 80's. Regretably, the content is entirely US-based, with no mention of the earliest modern computers and code-breakers at Bletchley Park in the UK, during World War II, who were the vital precursors to the hackers at MIT, as I understand it. Was also expecting at least a brief mention of the likes of Vint Cerf and Tim Berners-Lee with the revised versions of this audiobook; they may not be "true hackers" but their impact on modern computing and the world in general has clearly been enormous.

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A good audiobook, give it time to get going

I thought I'd struggle with the keywords narrator's style and accent but his delivery grew on me fairly quickly.
The content is, by its nature, somewhat old now, and it was written much nearer the time of the events, so it's only through the final update in the last chapters that it gets a more modern slant but this wasn't a concern to me. The focus seemed to shift a little much to the gaming industry later, but to an extent that's reflecting the environment and the times.
It feels like a book I'll go back to after a bit of a break - at the start, some of the names flew by without feeling like I'd build much understanding and connection, but as it went on this improved.

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A brilliant story of computer history

Definitely recommended for anyone with an interest in the history of modern computing. whilst it felt slow to start, it soon picks up and provides a great insight into the lives of those responsible for technology today

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2 people found this helpful

Good but a little meandering...

I know it's held up as a classic and it certainly captures the spirit of the time but at times it feels over long and I wish the author had gotten to the point a bit more (in other cases a story ends just as it's getting good).

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2 people found this helpful

Skillfully woven

This book is a skillfully woven collection of anecdotes and stories going back some 70 years to the earliest days of mainframe and mini computers up to the 1980s and the home computer explosion. If you are not into computers then this book probably isn't for you. If you are, however, you will recognise all the traits of the individuals in this book as they dedicate themselves to making their machines bend to their will.

Of particular interest to me was the many descriptions about the social and cultural aspects of the 'hacker' community which is often missing from similar texts.

The narration style is somewhat over-egged - the guy reminds me of those late night 12-hour long TV advertising channels! He needs to dial it back a bit - however you get used to it and it doesn't detract from the narrative at all. It's just an observation really - don't let it put you off this excellent book. I can highly recommend it.

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1 person found this helpful

Enjoyable and inspiring

I really enjoyed this, brought a smile to my face at times but also found it quiet sad that many of these men have not been recognised for their contributions unlike Steve Jobs for example. Being a programmer myself I found this very inspirational and found myself wanting to code after a marathon session listening to it.

I do however feel that it would have been nice have at least mentioned the British hackers that made many things possible for these US counterparts.

On the whole, a GREAT listen!

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6 people found this helpful