In the Beginning...was the Command Line
HarperCollins · Paperback · November 9, 1999
This is "the Word" -- one man's word, certainly -- about the art (and artifice) of the state of our computer-centric existence.
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- Who it’s for
- A sharp, funny meditation on computer culture and the systems shaping everyday life.
- Themes
- Computer-centric culture, Operating-system power, Internet and popular revolutions
- Genres
- Tech & Society, History of Computing, Operating Systems
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This is "the Word" -- one man's word, certainly -- about the art (and artifice) of the state of our computer-centric existence. And considering that the "one man" is Neal Stephenson, "the hacker Hemingway" (Newsweek) -- acclaimed novelist, pragmatist, seer, nerd-friendly philosopher, and nationally bestselling author of groundbreaking literary works (Snow Crash, Cryptonomicon, etc., etc.) -- the word is well worth hearing.
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Mostly well-reasoned examination and partial rant, Stephenson's In the Beginning... was the Command Line is a thoughtful, irreverent, hilarious treatise on the cyber-culture past and present; on operating system tyrannies and downloaded popular revolutions; on the Internet, Disney World, Big Bangs, not to mention the meaning of life itself.
Code and Culture
A sharp, funny meditation on computer culture and the systems shaping everyday life.
Come here for
- Irreverence alongside serious thought about cyber-culture
- Questions about operating-system power and online revolutions
Expect
- Reasoned examination with a streak of rant
- Big ideas, from Disney World to the meaning of life
Where it sits
| History of Computing | 52% |
|---|---|
| Tech & Society | 37% |
| Operating Systems | 21% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Computers
- Information Technology
- Macintosh Systems
- UNIX Systems
Show all 8 publisher categories
- Linux Systems
- Mac Programming
- Open Source Development
- Spreadsheet Software
- Authors
- Neal Stephenson
- Publisher
- HarperCollins
- Published
- November 9, 1999
- Format
- Paperback
- Theme
- Computer-centric culture · Operating-system power · Internet and popular revolutions
- Reading lane
- Computers