Computer system manufacturing is– after cars and trucks, energy production and controlled substances– the biggest industry on the planet, and it is among the last great success stories in American service. Accidental Empires is the trenchant, vastly readable history of that industry, focusing as much on the astoundingly odd personalities at its core– Steve Jobs, Expense Gates, Mitch Kapor, etc. and the hacker culture they generated as it does on the amazing technology they created. Cringely reveals the manias and characteristics of these men (they are always men) with deadpan hilarity and cogently demonstrates how their neuroses have actually shaped the computer organisation. Cringely gives us much more than modern voyeurism and expert chatter. From the birth of the transistor to the mid-life crisis of the computer system market, he spins a sweeping, uniquely American saga of creativity and ego that is at when uproarious, stunning and inspiring.
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