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Steven Levy

Insanely Great: The Life and Times of Macintosh, the Computer that Changed Everything Paperback – January 1, 1995

by Steven Levy (Author)

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Insanely Great: The Life and Times of Macintosh, the Computer that Changed Everything
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Steven Levy, columnist (the "Iconoclast") for MacWorld magazine, chronicles the history of the Macintosh. The story of the Macintosh is in many ways the story of interface development, and Levy explores how this revolutionary interface came to be and how it literally changed the face of computers.

He avoids falling into the "us and them" of the Windows versus Macintosh debate. He ranges from personal anecdotes from the creators of the Mac to more general issues of software design, hardware design, and the politics and showbiz of the computer industry.

Print length

320 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Penguin Books
Publication date

January 1, 1995
Dimensions

5.2 x 0.57 x 7.72 inches
ISBN-10

0140232370
ISBN-13

978-0140232370
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Back in the early 1980s, word spread about an inviting little personal computer that used something called a mouse and smiled at you when you turned it on. Steven Levy relates his first encounter with the pre-released Mac and goes on to chronicle the machine that Apple developers hoped would "make a dent in the universe." A wonderful story told by a terrific writer (Levy was the longtime writer of the popular "Iconoclast" column in MacWorld; he's now a columnist with Newsweek, the birth and first ten years of the Macintosh is a great read.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Books; 0 edition (January 1, 1995)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0140232370
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0140232370
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 7.9 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.2 x 0.57 x 7.72 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #5,613,283 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #90,500 in Economics (Books)
- #171,162 in Computers & Technology (Books)

Customer Reviews:
68 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		61%
4 star		19%
3 star		13%
2 star		6%
1 star 0% (0%)		0%

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Top reviews from the United States

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TUS Bob

Very Poor Editing

Reviewed in the United States on July 25, 2020

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This is early Steven Levy, and while well-written, it is riddled with editing errors, including strange ASCII characters where smart quotes and diacritical marks should appear. How this made the cut for sale in the Kindle Store is beyond me.

Helpful

Edward Thilborn

Technical, but good.

Reviewed in the United States on April 15, 2021

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A bit technical, but good. If you are really into computers, then you should like this a lot.

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Charles H. Rosa

Nice book

Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2014

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A very nice review of where the Macintosh came from. Starting from DARPA sponsored work back in the 1950's, and 1960's, and continuing through Xerox PARC, the book describes how WYSIWYG based user interfaces were developed, culminating in the amazing original Apple Macintosh. In this latest addition, Mr. Levy has added a great tribute to Steve Jobs after his recent passing. A very nice book.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Michael Weinstein

still remarkably relevant

Reviewed in the United States on April 15, 2014

Verified Purchase

I was a bit taken aback when I realized that this book on computer history, despite the 2011 date, was actually 20 years old, but it turned out to be a fascinating read. I had read Walter Isaacson's bio of Jobs and this complements it well. And the epilogue brings it up to the current day. A book about the Mac by a Mac enthusiast (aren't all of us Mac users Mac enthusiasts?). There is a lot of computer history here.

Helpful

Phil Simon

A wonderful stroll down memory lane

Reviewed in the United States on March 12, 2012

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An excellent look at the rise and challenges of the Macintosh. To me, this book was a bit of a trip down memory lane. I remember some of the very applications that Levy describes. I remember the frustrations of first using a personal computer, but didn't know the backstory behind the development of the Mac. Rife with interesting parables from key players like Atkinson and Woz, this is a really interesting book that ages surprisingly well.

One person found this helpful

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jurogumo

Too little meat

Reviewed in the United States on February 15, 2014

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This is a pretty good overview of the earlier days of Apple, but I can't help but to feel that the real meat of this book is drawn from Folklore-dot-org (which, to be fair, is a common problem for books about Apple history) which leaves some significant holes in the story for some of the later history.

No in-depth discussion about System 7, too little insight into events like Taligent and Pink. Major events in Apple's history that don't really get covered well.

I'd definitely recommend this book if you're not already familiar with some of the early events in Apple's early history, but if you're already familiar you'll probably find yourself skimming.

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

mdekoning

Interesting book about the Macintosh

Reviewed in the United States on April 8, 2014

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An extensive and interesting read about the birth of the Macintosh. I would recommend this book to everybody who is more interested in knowing why the Macintosh paved the way for a new generation of computing and why today, we (as Mac enthusiasts) still love the Mac in its current form.

My only issue with the book was, is that the chapters are quite long and can become a bit boring in the end, as the material is quite deep and technical. Nevertheless, still highly recommended.

Helpful

C Corbett

Great content. HORRIBLE editing!

Reviewed in the United States on February 20, 2014

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As George Takei says, "Oh myyy." Every few paragraphs as I read along I'd be pulled out of my flow in the book by typographical, spelling, formatting or other inexcusable errors. Great Caesar's ghost, how hard is it to edit a book these days?!

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

M. M

Life of a loony who changed the world.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 29, 2015

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Since I was 'there at the time' I must have missed it. Just the same I think the whole book must be authentic as Levy also wrote Hackers and Crypto, and both check out. The will only be one SJ….. ever. Few companies or business can afford to humour a loony until he coughs up the next Insanley Great Written at a pace, the technical details also check out. For those born after 1970, you missed the best parts.

One person found this helpful

RichyS

Enjoyably written. Great transcript for this anniversary edition.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 4, 2014

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A well known story interestingly written. A few technical inaccuracies and could do with a proof read. Fascinating transcript of the Steve Jobs interview in this edition almost worth the entry fee on its own!

M. Rocks

Insanely great book.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 26, 2014

Verified Purchase

Great account of the principals that formed the original Macintosh and still inform it today. Good companion to the Steve Jobs official bio.

One person found this helpful

Rod Tyler

Rod

Reviewed in Canada on February 10, 2014

Verified Purchase

Here is a book that details a lot of the origins of Apple while giving special attention to the genesis of desktop publishing and a lot of what today we take for granted as part of using computers, tablets and smart phones. A special shout out to an author who can use some of the rich fullness of the English language.

Celestino Rey López

Wrong non English characters

Reviewed in Spain on February 20, 2014

Verified Purchase

It is annoying how non English characters are displayed in my kindle.

Amazon should fix this and send an update.

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Insanely Great: The Life and Times of Macintosh, the Computer that Changed Everything Paperback – January 1, 1995

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