The Heart of the Internet: An Insider's View of the Origin and Promise of the On-Line Revolution [Hardcover]

Jacques F. Vallee (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 201 pages
• Publisher: Hampton Roads Publishing Company (July 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1571743693
• ISBN-13: 978-1571743695
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,591,801 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jacques VALLEE holds a master's degree in astrophysics from France and a PhD in computer science from Northwestern University, where he served as an associate of Dr. J. Allen Hynek. He is the author of several books about high technology and unidentified phenomena, a subject that first attracted his attention as an astronomer in Paris. While analyzing observations from many parts of the world, Jacques became intrigued by the similarities in patterns between moderrn sightings and historical reports of encounters with flying objects and their occupants in every culture. The result was the seminal book Passport to Magonia, published in 1969.

After a career as an information scientist with Stanford Research Institute and the Institute for the Future, where he served as a principal investigator for the groupware project on the Arpanet, the prototype of the Internet, Jacques Vallée co-founded a venture capital firm in Silicon Valley. He lives in San Francisco.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very good read... a very smart man., September 13, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Heart of the Internet: An Insider's View of the Origin and Promise of the On-Line Revolution (Hardcover)

Dr. Vallee is well respected in other fields besides the computer world, but this book detailing his experience as part of the evolution and creation of what became the internet is sure to acquire a good audience of its own. The book is written partly like an autobiography, partly like a discerning review of the subject. It is a nice mix, with enough personal insight and interest to make it compelling, and enough factual detail to make it a worthy reference book on its own. As is common for this author, he has a keen insight into not just the technical and factual aspects of a subject, but the human perspectives as well, and it is this which makes the book not just another list of facts (as many about computers are), but an intriguing narrative of human history and how the present came to be--as well as what the future may hold. I highly recommend it.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A compelling warning! Read this & take nothing for granted, July 16, 2003

By 

Jacques F. Vallee (SAN FRANCISCO, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Heart of the Internet: An Insider's View of the Origin and Promise of the On-Line Revolution (Hardcover)

From Paul Saffo, Institute for the Future: Based on a deep understanding of the Internet and its origins, this book presents a compelling warning. It is a welcome antidote to both the naive utopianism of the Internet bubble and to oppressive liberty-quenching actions by global corporations and governments alike. Read this and take nothing for granted - the Internet will only remain a force for freedom if you help protect it.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Unusual merit, July 16, 2003

By 

Jacques F. Vallee (SAN FRANCISCO, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Heart of the Internet: An Insider's View of the Origin and Promise of the On-Line Revolution (Hardcover)

From Paul Baran, inventor of packet switching: Among the many books written about the Internet, this one has unusual merit because Jacques Vallee was there during the infancy of the network. It is fun to read his recollections as a key hands-on pioneer. His aspirations and visions, and those of his colleagues at SRI and the Institute for the Future, led to the first Network Information Center and to revolutionary ways of conducting group communications. This work made possible the large simultaneous interactions of today.