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Accidental Empires: How the Boys of Silicon Valley Make Their Millions, Battle Foreign Competition, and Still Can't Get a Date
 
 
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Accidental Empires: How the Boys of Silicon Valley Make Their Millions, Battle Foreign Competition, and Still Can't Get a Date (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Years ago, when you were a kid and I was a kid, something changed in America..." (more)
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4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (75 customer reviews)

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  • This item: Accidental Empires: How the Boys of Silicon Valley Make Their Millions, Battle Foreign Competition, and Still Can't Get a Date by Robert X. Cringely

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Robert X. Cringely manages to capture the contradictions and everyday insanity of computer industry empire building, while at the same time chipping away sardonically at the PR campaigns that have built up some very common businesspeople into the household gods of geekdom. Despite some chuckles at the expense of all things nerdy, white, and male in the computer industry, Cringely somehow manages to balance the humor with a genuine appreciation of both the technical and strategic accomplishments of these industry luminaries. Whether you're a hard-boiled Silicon Valley marketing exec fishing for an IPO or just a plain old reader with an interest in business history and anecdotal storytelling, there's something to enjoy here.


From Publishers Weekly

Rich in relevant, entertaining digressions, this breezy but informative history recounts how gifted, maverick "nerds," "hippies" and entrepreneurs like Apple's Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs invented and developed microprocessors and operating systems into today's volatile, ego-driven, highly competitive personal computer industry, in which ever-changing technical standards propel the market. Info World columnist Cringley charges that the astronomical sales of PCs ($70-billion worldwide in 1990) "both created the longest continuous peacetime economic expansion in U.S. history and ended it." While current dominance by IBM spurs competitors to further research and networking, the author predicts that by the year 2000 single chips will render today's PCs obsolete and that of American technology only software will survive.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 384 pages
  • Publisher: Harper Paperbacks (September 13, 1996)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0887308554
  • ISBN-13: 978-0887308550
  • Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 11.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (75 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #250,512 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

More About the Author

Robert X. Cringely
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Customer Reviews

75 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (75 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, even if you're not a nerd!, October 23, 1999
By A Customer
If you're interested in the birth and growth of the PC industry this is your guide!

After I saw the TV series I wanted to have the book, I even mailed Bob Cringely for the ISBN. A book like this could be a rather dull book, but this isn't one of those. This is a great book full of facts served with plenty of humour. Cringely was there when it happened, he knows what he's writing about. This book tells you about never released software, missed opportunities, killer applications, where the GUI came from, and much more in a language that isn't just for nerds.

I've read this book twice, I'm pretty sure I'll read it again...

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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars History of Computing for People Like Us, September 10, 2001
By Walter Nicolau (Columbia, MD United States) - See all my reviews
Accidental Empires is the suggestive title of a journey into the story of computing starting from its humble beginnings during the early seventies and ending just before the Internet revolution. It is by all means a fascinating account of the people and events that shaped the marketplace and gave it a direction and turned it into a multibillion industry. I still find it hard to believe that the first computer available on the market came in unassembled parts and the user had to put it together and the end product had no harddrive, no OS, and no applications to run. And this happened only 25 years ago...
As a journalist for Infoworld, Cringely leads us with a firm hand and clear passion for disentangling the intricate dependencies and relationships that reign in the computing industry. His book is a well informed account of the evolution of operating systems, hardware, networking, and print technologies starting from the day these were just wild ideas. Although the lecture may sound a little too technical and hence a bit complicated, this book is easy to follow. Through Cringely's talent we get a (funny but very plausible) portrait of the people, their desires, shortcommings, and in most cases genius and totally obsessive personalities.
Apart for the obvious animosity that the author nurtures towards Gates and Jobs whom he claims to be to various degrees true sociopaths, one with ambition to dominate the world, the other one to be accepted and loved, I find the whole overview to be an objective and informative account of the fascinating and tumultuous evolution of computing as we know today. Overall, Cringely argues that despite the incredible brainpower, no founding geek was ever capable of truly assessing the enormous impact the creation of personal computing, a user friendly OS, and networking technologies would have on our world and their pockets (this is to confirm that one can excel in many things but not all things). At the same time, it is simply stupefying to read about the incredibly ill advised strategic decisions that established companies, such as IBM and Xerox, made. For more info on the 200 billion dollars misstake, turn to the IBM files.
Along with The Sillicon Boys, this is the best book on the history of computing for the layman I've read so far, I don't hesitate to give it five stars.
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22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting content but Cringely's attitude makes me cringe, July 19, 2000
By Ellen Isaacs (San Francisco Bay Area, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
As someone who's been working in Silicon Valley for years, I found this book interesting for its insight into the history of the computer business and the strong personalities who created it. It focuses on the early giants of IBM, Apple, Microsoft, Compaq, and the like, well before the Internet became a popular medium. The book highlighted for me how much an industry is shaped by the people and their peculiarities, and how the culture of an organization shapes its perception of and reaction to events.

Still, Cringley's smug, know-it-all attitude detracted from the book and made me question the credibility of his analysis. He paints people in black and white strokes, often portraying the object of his ridicule as blind to the obviously correct course of action. Cringely is especially harsh on people he perceives as ego-driven and insecure, which, ironically, is just how he struck me.

I suspect people who are not particularly tied into the computer culture won't find this worth reading. But if you are among those hooked on the computer industry and you can get past Cringely's attitude, the book has some useful insights, anecdotes, and facts.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Cringely is a terrific writer.
What a great read! Saw this mentioned at the end of the "Welcome to Macintosh" movie. Somewhat dated but very entertaining for both PC and MAC users. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Vilis Stomers

5.0 out of 5 stars great read
I had so much fun reading this book that I got sad when I finished it. It only takes you up to 1996, I am eagerly awaiting a follow up that takes you into this century and talks... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Rick Mujica

5.0 out of 5 stars Boys will be Boys!
Accidental Empires (later made into a great TV production called: Triumph of the Nerds) is an eye opening view of the personal computer revolution and the who made it happen from... Read more
Published 17 months ago by C. Clayton

5.0 out of 5 stars Real Genius Writes in Three Mental Dimensions
If you are as fortunate as me, you will be able to read ACCIDENTAL EMPIRES and, at that time, realize that Mr. Robert Cringeley has a profund writing style. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Opto-Health

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent !!! The history of computer business
If you wish to know and better understand the computer business this book is for you. If you wish to know and better understand the computer history this book is for you too... Read more
Published 21 months ago by Roberto Costa

4.0 out of 5 stars "Accidental Empires" is not exactly an appropriate title
Published in 1992, this book is a good retrospective on the rise of the microcomputer and the fortunes it helped generate. Read more
Published on July 11, 2007 by Charles Ashbacher

5.0 out of 5 stars A fun gossip column that captures the times
Robert Cringely's book captures the ethos of early and mid-90s Silicon Valley - when nerds were starting to change the world, but the masses didn't get it yet. Read more
Published on February 25, 2007 by therosen

5.0 out of 5 stars Amusing and accurate! Oh for a new edition!!
I found this book a real delight.
You are given many amusing insights and he's often got things VERY accurate indeed. Worth reading. Read more
Published on January 9, 2007 by L. Brennan

5.0 out of 5 stars Cringely was there and part of the epic tale of Silicon Valley
He gets it -- from his first chapter when he says that constant change is the only norm in the PC business and the floppy disk days to Fry's Electronics and Bill Gates mom Mary--... Read more
Published on July 31, 2006 by Joyce Schwarz

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting
This is an interesting book. If you ever wanted to know about the companies that have ruled the computer world, just read this book, you'll learn about them in a pretty funny way... Read more
Published on April 21, 2006 by Esteban Mora Cyrman

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