Casting the Net: From ARPANET to INTERNET and Beyond (Addison-Wesley UNIX and Open Systems Series) (Paperback)

by Peter H. Salus (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
While brief histories of the Internet exist in many places, Peter Salus attempts to pull together the entire story. Beginning with George Stibnitz's demonstration of Bell Labs' complex calculator by remote terminal in September of 1940, Salus shows how this dauntingly complex technological achievement came into existence step by step, with thousands of small innovations in both hardware and software. It's unavoidable that the book is largely about technology, and there are several technical details and charts for those interested in the nuts and bolts of Internet construction. But even the technologically challenged will be able to follow the tale since it's largely about the people who made it all happen. Salus has gone back to the original documents and correspondence among the Net's creators and has interviewed such key players as Vinton Cerf, Bob Kahn, John Quartermain, Ray Tomlinson and many more. The picture that emerges encompasses the energy and thrill that went into the technical achievements--as well as many of the laughs and weirdness. Salus includes a number of the so-called Requests For Comments (RFCs) that were primarily used to spread technical developments but were occasional carriers of stress-relieving humor. RFC 527, "Arpawocky," is a terrific take-off on the "Jabberwocky," while RFC 1149, "A Standard for the Transmission of IP Diagrams on Avian Carriers," is an April 1st proposal to send messages by carrier pigeon.

Product Description
Focusing on the design decisions and standards which have made internetworking possible, this new book charts the intriguing history of this communications/computing phenomenon. From its beginnings as a Department of Defense project to its current position as the global network for computing communications, the full Internet story is told here.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional (May 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201876744
• ISBN-13: 978-0201876741
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #317,037 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I have more to say after reading another book..., December 9, 1999

By	Thomas Sheldon "NetAdmin_writer" (Santa Barbara, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I just finished reading "Where Wizards Stay up Late," another Internet history book. It is just as good and I actually felt a little nastalgia after reading the book, as if I were there myself. I highly recommend both books if you want to learn how all this technology developed. By the way, this book reads more like a novel. The Salus book reads more like a good rendering of the RFCs. But all these writers have done their job in interviewing the historical figures.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This pieces it all together, December 6, 1999

By	Thomas Sheldon "NetAdmin_writer" (Santa Barbara, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I came across this book while writing "The Encyclopedia of Networking." What a great resource. I was trying to write a historical outline by referring to the RFCs written during the early years of the Internet. What a task! This book puts it all into perspective. Salus has interviewed the people involved, including Cerf and many others, and in so doing, has made a major contribution to the Internet historical archives. Never mind that it is getting a little dated. Its a great read and kept me up past midnight.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A terrific look at the birth of the Internet, October 18, 1998

By A Customer

If you want to find out how things like the Internet, Usenet and other services we take for granted were developed, there's no better book than this one. Salus gives a detailed chronology of the Internet's history and development, with interviews of the people involved and numerous excerpts from RFCs and other documents. There's even details on how the alt.* hierarchy of Usenet newsgroups was born, with a debunking of the rumor that it stands for Anarchists, Lunatics and Terrorists. A terrific book.