Accidental Empires
![]() Revised edition (1996) | |
Author | Mark Stephens (as Robert X. Cringely) |
---|---|
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Subject | Computer industry |
Publisher | Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc. |
Publication date | February 1992 |
Media type | Print (Hardcover, Paperback) |
Pages | 324 |
ISBN | 978-0-201-57032-8 |
OCLC | 24141993 |
338.4/7004/0979473 20ca | |
LC Class | HD9696.C63 U51586 1991 |
Accidental Empires: How the Boys of Silicon Valley Make Their Millions, Battle Foreign Competition, and Still Can't Get a Date (1992, 1996), is a book written by Mark Stephens under the pen name Robert X. Cringely about the founding of the personal computer industry and the history of Silicon Valley.[1] The style of the book is informal, and in the first chapter Cringley claims that he is not a historian but an explainer, and that "historians have a harder job because they can be faulted for what is left out; explainers like me can get away with printing only the juicy parts."[2] Notably, the book was critical of Steve Jobs and Apple, as well as Bill Gates and Microsoft.[3]
The book was revised and republished in 1996, with new material added. A documentary based on the book, called Triumph of the Nerds: The Rise of Accidental Empires was aired on PBS in 1996, with Cringely as the presenter.[4][5]
In February 2012, Cringely wrote on his blog that he will republish the book online, free for all to read.[6]
Release details[]
- 1991, United States, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc ISBN 978-0-441-00652-6, Pub date February 1992 Hardback
- 1993, United States, Harper Collins ISBN 978-0-88730-621-1, Pub date February 1993, Paperback
- 1996, United States, Harper Collins ISBN 978-0-88730-855-0, Pub date October 23, 1996, Hardback
- 1996, United States, Penguin Books Ltd ISBN 978-0-14-025826-4, Pub date April 4, 1996, Paperback
References[]
- ^ Lewis, Peter H. (7 August 1992). "Summer books for computer nerds". New York Times.
- ^ Cringely, Robert X. (1992). Accidental Empires: How the Boys of Silicon Valley Make Their Millions, Battle Foreign Competition, and Still Can't Get a Date. p. 11.
- ^ Wilmott, Don (31 March 1992). "Cringely makes Silicon Valley shutter with scathing industry history". PC Magazine. 11 (6): 7.
- ^ Goodman, Walter (12 June 1996). "Mapping cyberspace in Bay Area garages". New York Times. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
- ^ Reed, Sandy (24 June 1996). "Notes from the legal front: the real Robert X Cringley appears in Infoworld". InfoWorld. 18 (26): 67.
- ^ Cringely, Robert X. (7 February 2012). "What the Dickens? Accidental Empires Rebooted". I, Cringely.
External links[]
- Accidental Empires at Google Books
- Accidental Empires at the author's blog
- 1992 non-fiction books
- History books about the United States
- Books about computer and internet companies
- Addison-Wesley books
- United States history book stubs
- Mass media book stubs