Behind the Silicon Curtain: The Seductions of Work in A Lonely Era [Hardcover]

Dennis Hayes (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this statistic-filled polemic, Hayes, a freelance writer, attacks technological progress as a fomenter of isolation and alienation. Focusing on Silicon Valley, he asks if the new technology can be said to have made its citizens' existence "better, more convenient, more comfortable" when quality of life has suffered. Workers are turning increasingly to drugs ("By 1987," Hayes maintains, "the citizens of San Jose spent $50 million each year--or over $700 for each man, woman and child--on illegal drugs") and the divorce rate is the highest in the nation ("Nearly 50 percent of Silicon Valley fathers said that their jobs, not their families, were of primary importance"). The industry has created a new type of itinerant laborer who job-hops and is stalked by "a notorious loneliness . . . the Silicon Syndrome." Hayes suggests no solutions except for a half-hearted concluding paragraph in which workers are urged to unite. But the book's dry presentation is unlikely to spur readers to such action.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From Library Journal

"The Information Age has stripped us of our social sensibilities . . . ," concludes the author in his study of the Silicon Valley. From exploitative personnel policies to complicity in dealings with immigrants, from environmental pollution to wide- scale social anomie, the Valley's electronics industry, with its military orientation, has created a world that has lost its dignity and humanity. The author is especially critical of the Valley professional's ability to focus on the technical craft of work and not its application. His criticism would be more acceptable if he were slightly less glib and perhaps more technically oriented--his description of the Department of Defense's adoption of the ADA programming language as "a Trojan Horse bearing a management policy," for example, is naive if not paranoid.
- Hilary D. Burton, Lawrence Livermore National Lab . , Livermore, Cal.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 215 pages
• Publisher: South End Press (July 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0896083519
• ISBN-13: 978-0896083516
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,858,452 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Still Relevant after 20 years, March 13, 2000

By 

Lisa Anderson (silicon valley) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Behind the Silicon Curtain: The Seductions of Work in A Lonely Era (Paperback)

This book is a worthy read for anyone working and living in Silicon Valley. You won't see anything about the booming Web economy because Hayes published before the advent of the Web. Nevertheless, his book accurately describes what I see around me today, working in a "Top 100 corporations to work for": modularity of projects without any coherent vision, a taboo on discussing projects or salaries, an overwhelming reliance on contract workers (who get no, nada, none of our perks), universal loneliness as we all toil away at our machines, and the frightening intensity with which Silicon Valley inhabitants approach shopping, fitness, and drugs. And. . . a resounding lack of any kind of political community. Dennis, write another book--we need you, updated!

5.0 out of 5 stars An expose of the inner culture within Silicon Valley, May 10, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Behind the Silicon Curtain: The Seductions of Work in A Lonely Era (Paperback)

Dennis Hayes highlights the micro-activity that is present within Silicon Valley which has proved to be the dominant economic model for regional economic development throughout the world. He exposes the inner world of the workers experience through the 'clean rooms' to the wider pollution around the Santa Clara Valley area. The mobility of work and its mundane nature are complimented with the experiences of the programmers who cannot escape the procedural nature of work. With assembly work being sourced abroad and the influx of foreign investment and intellectual capital Hayes book shines a bright intellectual torch to expose the dark inner workings of an area that is held up as the pantheon of all that is great in America. No place on the world symbolises 'progress' like Silicon Valley and after working there for several years and writing for a local newspaper Hayes has crafted an expose of the micro-culture where shopping, drugs and addiction are seemingly par for the course. An excellent book for those interested in this area.