The first half of the book is, in my opinion, absolutely brilliant. It portrays these manic young men in an affectionate but not uncritical manner, painting a picture of isolation and brilliance in the late 1950s. It's an appropriate tribute to the tenacity and creativity of these proto-hackers, who managed to wrest control over the development of computers from the megalithic IBM, which had long since gone into a state of stagnation that impeded technological progress in this vital field. They broke with IBM doctrine and started a revolution that had a lasting impact. Reading about the subculture that formed in the AI Lab at MIT is fascinating to me both as a political scientist and computer geek.
One of the most memorable machines mentioned by Levy, the Flexowriter, which he describes as "a typewriter converted for tank warfare", a lovely contraption that makes coding sound like machine-gunning.
The next part, about the computer scene of the late sixties and early seventies on the East Coast was in some ways even more interesting. I had no idea that the socially progressive ideas to such an extent permeated certain key figures there, including a bizarre pioneer project involving a public terminal for information exchange. As the story progresses, it becomes almost sad to read about how some of these driven and intelligent people cling to their original ideas even as they become more and more obsolescent. When big money starts to come into play, ideals become more and more diluted.
The final part, focusing on a few software companies that heralded the videogame boom of the 1980s, most notably Sierra On-Line (originally On-Line Systems), is interesting in its own way but does not strike me as an obvious continuation of the original narration. The development of UNIX and the struggle between developers, users and corporations is a fascinating mirror of the late 1950s, but it goes almost entirely without mention. While the drama surrounding the fates of the videogame hackers makes for an interesting read, it does sacrifice some of the core elements of the story in favor of even more colorful personalities.
The 25th anniversary edition does include a few appendices that make up for the original omissions, including a section on the incomparable Richard M. Stallman, a curious genius who stood up for the original hacker ideals even in the darkest hour of software capitalism. Even though he remains a bitter and resentful sentinel, always battling for the freedom of software even against those who could be his allies, the success of Linux, open source and new licenses such as Creative Commons, are to a significant part attributable to his tireless efforts.
The fact that this book was written by a journalist makes it a more enjoyable, if somewhat less technically gratifying, read than some other computer history books covering this time period. While it obviously caters to computer geeks, one doesn't have to be a programmer to follow the story and enjoy it. I'll admit that I had a hard time putting this one down until I'd finished it. Recommended to anyone with an interest in the general aspects of computer history and development, not the least because it had a historical impact of its own following the release of the first edition in 1984. The influence of the political backdrop, from the most intense days of the Cold War to the Flower Power-movement, makes it relevant even to political scientists like myself.
Swedish readers can get the book here: http://www.adlibris.com/se/bok/hackers-9781449388393
