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Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolutio

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I am a senior engineer for network security operations, who when nine years old in 1980 started computing on a Timex-Sinclair ZX-80. I probably first heard the term "hacker" when "War Games" was released in 1983. I read Steven's book because it is an early but enlightening account (first published in 1984) of the Hacker Ethic.

Consider: in a closed, self-policed environment, like the computer labs of the 1960s and early 1970s, freely sharing information makes sense. In an open, under-policed environment, like the modern Internet, deviants abuse the Hacker Ethic. Well-intentioned "white hats" may explore the phone system purely to understand its operation, but evil-minded "black hats" abuse the same knowledge to make free long distance calls. Does this mean information should be confined? No -- full disclosure is still the best way to counter black hat activity.

Steven lays the groundwork for these thoughts, and serves up gems from hacker history. His 1970s quote from Popular Electronics editor Les Solomon is the earliest reference I know linking hacking to kung fu: "The computer is...an art form. It's the ultimate martial art." Steven also shares tales of Sierra On-Line, Apple Corp., Homebrew Computer Club, the Altair, and even Bill Gates' 1975 rant against software piracy.

"Hackers" will make you appreciate your unlimited access to the machine on which you're reading this review. Hackers of the 1960s and 1970s would have given their first born child to possess the power and availability of modern PCs; now we take PCs for granted, like indoor plumbing or refrigeration!

Those who lived the early days of PCs will enjoy Steven's trip down memory lane. Those who are younger will discover the true meaning of the word "hacker" -- one who promotes access, freedom, decentralization, meritocracy, art, and joy through computers.

Hackers is a watershed work... its ability to explain technical concepts is suitable for almost anyone, but its explanation of the human concept behind the early days of the computing industry -- WHY hackers were, not just WHAT they were -- is unparalleled except possibly in The Hacker Crackdown by Bruce Sterling. You might have thought you "knew" that the personal computer came from IBM, which it didn't, or from Apple, which it didn't. You might have thought even the term "hacker" meant a malicious attacker and destroyer of complex systems, when the opposite was and is true. No matter how much time you've spent in the industry, whether you're in hardware, software or management, this book will show you how much of what you thought you knew is wrong or incomplete. The players are three-dimensional, the strands linking the storylines are bright and strong, the tone isn't moralistic, and it shows clearly how not only the Hacker Ethic began and evolved, but gives us insight as to why it's still alive, well, relevant and NEEDED in an era of know-nothing suits, IPO-driven greed, and mindless hype. Buy it. Buy two. Buy three. Give them to your friends.

I've owned this book for about 15 years, and have read it perhaps 30 or more times. The tale is familiar by now, but the storytelling is compelling, and the subject matter fascinating.

Hackers covers the computer revolution- from research lab to home- up to approximately 1984, right before the Commodore 64 took over as #1 home computer. Even though the book is a large one, Mr. Levy keeps the focus on a single winding narrative throughout. This makes the book interesting to read and relatively easy to follow, but unfortunately tends to leave out parts of the computer revolution that don't fit into his rigid outline.

The outline is as follows: hacking begins at MIT and spreads to Stanford, and we see the genesis of video games in Spacewar. A new movement sprouts in post-hippie California with the release of Intel's first 8-bit chips, and this movement- dedicated to homebrew and user-built systems- is the font from which the Altair and the Apple II spring. Finally, the narrative ends on the rise of game software companies- especially Sierra- on the strength of the Apple II's market share. There's also an epilogue on Richard Stallman. While other stories are recounted in short fashion along the way- John Harris' Sierra/Frogger/Atari story in particular- little is done to acknowledge the larger picture of the industry, whether it's universities outside of MIT and Stanford or Atari's massive rise to and fall from power.

Steven Levy writes much like Tom Wolfe circa-"Right Stuff", and the overall theme and feel of the book is the same as much of Tom Wolfe's books- an expose of a (then) little understood sub-culture, written in an engaging fashion. Even Mr. Levy's use of coined words, phrases, and lingo is much like Tom Wolfe. Technical jargon will be introduced with a simple definition, and then used through the next few chapters either in an ironic fashion, or to let readers feel "in" with the scenario being written about. Bizarre wording and odd phrases also pop up- sometimes apparently for show- and are then repeated over and over. "Croseus Mode" is used over and over to refer to wealth- phrasing like this seems gratuitous and I find it jarring to read, but that's just a personal preference.

Much of the Apple portion of the book will be familiar for those who watched Pirates of Silicon Valley. Just like that TV movie, the book transcends the culture from which it arose, and is great reading for anyone interested in pop culture, sociology, business, or computers.

Don't read this book as an A to Z or a history book. Read it if you want to FEEL the beginning. Did you ever hack something? Ever flip a character bit in an early role-playing game? Ever write assembly code on a PDP-11? Ever own an Apple II? The three eras covered in this book really take you into the experience and give you a sense of what it was like in the early days of this industry. And Stephen Levy is a great writer. I read everything he writes cover to cover with ease and interest.

steven levy truly does a great job writing about computers from its beginnings as the domain of a very few select, perhaps nerdy, but extremely intelligent group of students and non-students at MIT to the explosion of personal computers in the 1980s. the book ends at 1984 (when it was first published), so it does not go into the internet boom, but up until that point it provides an extensive and also entertaining view of what was going on and who was making it all happen.

i highly recommend this book to everyone that wants to know the beginnings of our technology-driven society, whether you are technical minded or not. don't be discouraged by the talk of machines you may never have heard of or programming languages and hardware terms you're not familiar with -- these are important to the story, no doubt, but levy explains everything clearly from where the term 'hackers' orignated to why IBM 'hulking giants' were so disdained to what chip does what. and the main story being told is not in the machinery itself, but in the people.

the book reads like fiction. from the middle school genius kids who were openly accepted into the MIT hackers groups, to the cocky 19-year-old named bill gates who refused to share his code openly the way everyone else was doing with each other at the time, and to the 20-something millionaires of the gaming revolution in the 1980s, levy shows us what was happening but also gives us insight into what made these people who they were.

levy has done his research. with facts from extensive interviews, re-interviews, newspaper articles and other resources, he's managed to put together not just a story about the birth and 'growing up' of personal computing, but also show us the human spirit of these geniuses and artists. if you are at all interested in 'hacking' (whether computer-based or otherwise) this book will doubtless inspire you to spend sleepless nights working on your creations knowing that amazing things can happen when you put your mind to it.

as a woman, i'm only sorry that there weren't more women hackers to admire and look up to among all the men, but then, that's not a flaw of the book so much as a sad truth of history.

this book may be out of print, but it is not outdated, and well worth searching through a few used bookstores to find a copy. borrow mine if you must :)

Hackers, by Steven Levy, should be required reading for anyone who programs computers for a living. Starting from the late 1950s, when the first hackers wrote code for the TX-0 and every instruction counted, to the early 1980s, when computers fully entered the consumer mainstream, and it was marketing rather than hacking which mattered. Levy divides this time into three eras: that of the 'True Hackers,' who lived in the AI lab at MIT and spent most of their time on the PDP series, the 'Hardware Hackers,' mostly situated in Silicon Valley and responsible for enhancing the Altair and creating the Apple, and the 'Game Hackers,' who were also centered in California; expert at getting the most out of computer hardware, they were also the first to make gobs and gobs of money hacking.

The reason everyone who codes should read this book is to gain a sense of history. Because the field changes so quickly, it's easy to forget that there is a history, and, as Santayana said, "Those who do not remember the past are doomed to repeat it." It's also very humbling, at least for me, to see what kind of shenanigans were undertaken to get the last bit of performance from a piece of hardware that was amazing for its time, but now would be junked without a thought. And a third takeaway was the transformation that the game industry went through in the early 80s: first you needed technical brilliance, because the hardware was slow and new techniques needed to be discovered. However, at some point, the hard work was all done, and the business types took over. To me, this corresponds to the 1997-2001 time period, with the web rather than games being the focus.

That's one of my beefs--the version I read was written in 1983, and republished, with a new afterword in 1993. So, there's no mention of the new '4th generation' of hackers, who didn't have the close knit communities of the Homebrew Computer Club or the AI lab, but did have a far flung, global fellowship via email and newsgroups. It would be a fascinating read.

Beyond the dated nature of the book, Levy omits several developments that I think were fundamental to the development of the hacker mindset. There's only one mention of Unix in the entire book, and no mention of C. In fact, the only languages he mentions are lisp, basic and assembly. No smalltalk, and no C. I also feel that he overemphasizes 'hacking' as a way that folks viewed and interacted with the world, without defining it. For instance, he talks about Ken Williams, founder of Sierra Online, 'hacking' the company, when it looked to me like it was simple mismanagement.

For all that, it was a fantastic read. The more you identify with the geeky, single males who were in tune with the computer, the easier and more fun a read it will be, but I still think that everyone who uses a computer could benefit from reading Hackers, because of the increased understanding of the folks that we all depend on to create great software.

If you're considering reading Hackers, by Steven Levy you're either a hacker wannabe, or maybe the real deal looking for a trip down random-access memory lane. Either way, Hackers is a well-written narrative version of the history of "hacking" - that is, figuring out how to make computers perform tasks, often by simple trial and error; from the early days at MIT in the late 50's through the microcomputer revolution in the eighties. Not only is it well-written and organized, it gives you just enough technical data to increase your understanding of the hackers' achievements, and doesn't drown you in jargon.

I read this as research for a writing project; I use computers, I like computers, but by the end of the book I was wrapped up in a world of people who are consumed by the curiosity of what a computer is capable of. All the of real people that Levy writes about are interesting and vibrant in their own peculiar ways. And all the description of ingenuity and innovation in the sake of a good hack really gets you inspired.

I'm sure there are people who will take issue with Levy's selective coverage of the machines covered, debatably skewed emphasis on the bookish quality of the MIT group versus the crazy, do-it-yourselfers at Stanford, etc., and all of the people covered are not shown in a uniform light. But if you love computers, and would like to read about some really interesting people who accomplish some pretty amazing things, then this is a book for you.

Let's see, where to begin... I have recommended this book to many people, even those not heavily involved with computers, simply because it is such a wonderful read. In a nutshell, I learned about computer history in a very enjoyable way--through the eyes of those who lived and breathed it. This book is a series of stories, beutifully narrated and colorfully depicted.

I loved the part about Bill Gates! Read this and you will understand much about the "genius" behind the man, and the abrasion once-upon-a-time created between him and the rest of the world. (Much of the Microsoft--Gates--backlash today is a mere extension of what occurred back then, at the hacker meetings, when Gates was only 19 yrs. old).

Likewise, much of the substance of what is now known as "open-source" is also an extension of how things were in the beginning of computers. Call it an extension, call it a revival, but the "hacker ethic" (as described in the book) is, in my opinion, the true seed of what has become the biggest phenomenom (the open-source movement) in the software industry today.

This book should be a recommended reading for computer science and MIS students in all responsible minded universities and colleges. The ideas expressed in this book are not about computers, not about machines. They are about people--their feelings, dreams, motivations, AND MORALS.

And it is about a vision. A vision that applies to one's work--whether in computers or not--to help others, and contribute one's part to make the world a better place for the next person.

All those fuzzy things aside, this book is impeccable in its style and content. My regards to the authors, editors, publishers, and interviewees of this book. Hands down, it is one of the best books I have ever read. --Daniel

Hackers is considered a classic of computer history (short as it is) and culture. Painstakingly compiled by Levy from both written accounts and hundreds of interviews with some of the most important figures in computing, ranging from Greenblatt and Gosper to Bill Gates, Steve Wozniak, and Steve Jobs. It's an outstanding work and is required reading for anyone interested in the origins of the computer industry.

The story progresses in a mostly linear historical manner, as much as is possible. Early on its much easier since almost all the computing going on was taking place in a few concentrated locations. Later in the 70s and early 80s there is some parallel storytelling after the explosive growth in the personal computer market and there is just too much going on.

Up first is the story of the original "true hackers" of the legendary MIT Tech Model Railroad and the 9th floor Tech Central and AI lab. Rejecting the batch processed mentality of IBM and the big iron mainframes, these elite hackers originated the image of the geeky programmer and the `hacker ethic' still followed to this day. This is probably the most important section of the book culturally speaking, as we get an intimate look at their utopian little society and all the unique patterns of behavior that followed: the lock picking, hardware hacking, soda guzzling, Chinese food eating, 30 hour programming sprees, prank pulling, and the utter disdain for all bureaucracy and administration.

Next up, this time on the other side of the country in California a very different but equally important revolution is underway. The true birthplace of the personal computer was not the elite halls of MIT, but the grungy garages of the original hardware hackers, centering primarily around the legendary Homebrew Computer Club. While the MIT hackers pounded out nifty but largely uninteresting programs on multimillion dollar timesharing microcomputers - the hardware hackers believed in bringing the power of computers to every home - and made it happen. These were men (yes they were all men) who thought nothing of buying an early Altair computer kit that consisted of nothing more than a box full of circuit boards - soldering them together with little or no instruction into something that barely resembled what anyone today would consider a computer - only to have no monitor or keyboard or sound. The entire operating system would have to be entered by hand in arcane assembly language each time the machine was turned.

The hardware hackers knew computers could eventually find a home with regular people at a reasonable price, and quickly delivered. However, once this was accomplished (via the Apple and Atari home computers) it still would take some time to answer the eternal question - what the heck do you do with these computers? The formation of three grassroots companies solved this question - and the game hackers were born. In those days an individual gifted programmer could author an entire game, and reap an incredible 30% royalty rate from its sales. In computer circles they literally became like rock stars, including the rampant drug abuse.

Levy ends with a newly added epilogue entitled The Last of the True Hackers. Here he takes a look at what became of many of the young and idealistic hackers 10 years after the original publishing of the book. In particular he focuses on the lamentation of the self described Last True Hacker - Richard Stallman, aka RMS. RMS is an ultra socialistic hacker and founded the Free Software Foundation in accordance with his overzealous belief that all software should be free.

Overall Levy's book is a fairly objective account of this unusual history. However there are a number of important themes which are developed and explored along the way. Chief among them is defining the principle tenets of The Hacker Ethic and understanding its origins. It is a difficult concept, and simultaneously the reason for the success of the early hackers, and the making of their ultimate downfall. Their inability to understand anything but the computers they worked on, they failed in commercial success and in truly advancing the worldwide adoption of computer technology. Their elitist attitude persists to this day. It was only the hackers who understood not only the technology, but the business side and the practical application of technology that really succeeded.

This book can be read in several ways.

Taking it head-on, it is a true story of some real heroes of the Computer Revolution. People who got into the guts of the machine to truly understand (or "grok") how it works and why. From the Tech Model Railroad Club to Apple, these are the people who we can thank for the Internet, for personal computers and for just about any automated system we take for granted today.

Taken another way, this book demonstrates an often-overlooked way of teaching and learning. The Hackers have one thing in common: An innate desire to learn. Sometimes all it takes is putting a person in a room with something interesting, and letting them explore. That person will learn more than any book or lecture could have taught.

Finally, this book is can be a great gift for a student of computers. Just the thing to inspire someone to greater things.