This 25th anniversary edition of Steven Levy's classic book traces the
exploits of the computer revolution's original hackers -- those
brilliant and eccentric nerds from the late 1950s through the early '80s
who took risks, bent the rules, and pushed the world in a radical new
direction. With updated material from noteworthy hackers such as Bill
Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Richard Stallman, and Steve Wozniak, Hackers
is a fascinating story that begins in early computer research labs and
leads to the first home computers.
Levy profiles the imaginative brainiacs who found clever and unorthodox
solutions to computer engineering problems. They had a shared sense of
values, known as "the hacker ethic," that still thrives today. Hackers
captures a seminal period in recent history when underground activities
blazed a trail for today's digital world, from MIT students finagling
access to clunky computer-card machines to the DIY culture that spawned
the Altair and the Apple II.