10 books you must read: Subject Computers
Few industries have seen as much innovation or have had as fundamental an impact on our daily lives than the computer industry. For better or for worse, the industry has transformed society in a manner few would have imagined a few short decades ago. Here in no particular is a list of 10 books that offer a great perspective into the industry.
iWoz: Computer Geek to Cult Icon. By Steve Wozniak, Gina Smith
Whether you are one of those who love Apple or detest it for its snootiness, the one thing everyone agrees is that it is impossible to ignore the company. iWoz is a fascinating look at the early days of this iconic company and the events that culminated in the creation of the first personal computer as told by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.
The Google Story. By David Vise, Mark Malseed
When Stanford University students Larry Page and Sergey Brin founded Google in 1998 even they couldn’t have foreseen what a phenomenal success their venture would be. The Google Story tells the spellbinding tale of how the two redefined Internet search and created what has become one of the most influential companies of all time.
Secrets & Lies: Digital Security in a Networked World. By Bruce Schneier
Few people understand digital security better than or can explain it in quite the fashion that Bruce Schneier does. In this classic, Schneier uses his decades of experience as a cryptographer and electronics engineer to advocate the need for swift detection and response for dealing with security threats. A must read for security buffs.
Does IT Matter. By Nicholas G. Carr
Considering how much of our daily lives depend on information technology, asking if IT matters might seem like an almost hyperbolic question. But the real message in Carr’s thought-provoking book is not really about whether IT is important but whether it is getting so ubiquitous as to become commoditized.
The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook. By Ben Mezrich
This entertaining and sometimes salacious book tells the story of Eduardo Saverin and Mark Zuckerberg, the Harvard undergraduates and best friends who went on to create Facebook the social networking phenomenon that has completely changed the way people relate with each other.
All a Twitter: By Tee Morris
This book is a must read if for no other reason than to get a better understanding of the Twitter phenomenon and how it almost overnight has become a social networking movement with unmatched political and social clout.
Hard Drive: Bill Gates and the Making of the Microsoft Empire. By James Wallace and Jim Erickson
This engaging and often unsparing book by two journalists from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer chronicles Bill Gates’ incredible journey from Harvard dropout to founder of one of most influential companies of all time. A must read even if only to find out how America’s richest man got to be that way.
The Art of Deception. By Kevin Mitnick and William Simon
Any book written by a hacker as notorious as Kevin Mitnick almost inevitably has to be good and this one is no exception. The Art Of Deception is a fascinating, if somewhat depressing look at how hackers use social engineering to trick people for fun and profit.
Being Digital. By Nicholas Negroponte
This book is a compilation of 18 articles that Negroponte, founder of MIT’s Media Lab, wrote for Wired magazine. It’s a must read for technology buffs and offers a detailed look at media technologies such as CD-ROMs, DVDs and HDTVs that many of us take for granted today.
Spies Among Us. By Ira Winkler
This book by Winkler, a former agent at the National Security Agency (NSA) offers an eye-opening if somewhat disturbing glimpse at the many vulnerabilities that exist in our security and intelligence infrastructure.