I've always been interested in the history of technology. Or at least, ever since Sid Meier gave me a technology tree in Civilization. Along the way I collected a large number of books that helped shape how I thought about computing, and technology in general. Then I sat down to write a little book on the history of computers, just before the COVID-19 pandemic began. Next thing I knew, my little 300 to 400 page book was 500, then 1,000, and ultimately over 2,000 pages. That journey took me far outside the comfort of my own personal library, into the realm of a podcast, the hallowed halls of academia, museums, eBay (to get actual devices to see where I'd been misled by marketers), and off-air (and sometimes off-record) oral histories with some of people who wrote foundational code or texts about the nascent computing industry when it was young.

Once I started to write, I found myself pulling in more and more academic works. Therefore, I wanted to split this list of resources used into the ones used in the book itself, but then I also wanted to include those where they maybe didn't supply specific facts (named entities in machine learning-speak) but instead helped shape the philosophy behind it. And there is a philosophy, even if it changed between when the book was started and when it was finished. Although if there's one thing I've learned, over the course of updating facts for the past 6 years is that the history of technology has never changed faster. That might be new discoveries about ancient facts we had wrong, companies that got acquired, or technology that seemed dominant but by the publication of the book had already become outdated.

Ultimately, the book began with an idea that there were these moments that changed everything. Moments where a big discovery was made, or a device introduced - and that changed the world. That highlights the contributions of a few talented philosophers, scientists, and engineers. It's somewhat easier to tell that story, because there are less people to discuss. It's also an oversimplification, which is necessary when telling history. Don't put on blinders and you'll end up unable to keep a reader. The truth is that there's been a slow, steady, but building evolution in technology since those early humans discovered how to leverage the six types of simple machines.

I hate leaving all the people and resources that don't appear in the book - or this list. But it has to stop somewhere, and at 2,000 pages, the book already has to be split up. So the following chapter list is likely to be edited to indicate the updated titles/volumes of the finished work.

Official Citation List for the History of Computers, from Springer/Apress

• Chapter 0: A Brief History of the World
• Chapter 1: The Evolution of Philosophy and Technology
• Chapter 2: Early Mainframes
• Chapter 3: Minicomputers and Timesharing
• Chapter 4: Microcomputers and Early Personal Computing
• Chapter 5: The Emergence of Peripherals and Components
• Chapter 6: The Family Tree of Programming Languages
• Chapter 7: How Operating Systems Evolved
• Chapter 8: Early Computer Networking
• Chapter 9: The Early Nets
• Chapter 10: Web 1.0
• Chapter 11: Web 2.0
• Chapter 12: The Business of Software
• Chapter 13: Games
• Chapter 14: The Cloud and Digital Sovereignty
• Chapter 15: The Post-PC Era
• Chapter 16: Convergence, Not Singularity

Assets used to research and document the history of computing before the writing really began in earnest

• Books used to research and document the history of computers
• Books used to analyze how the general history of technology, science, and philosophy shaped technology and the modern worldview
• Technical Books
• Books used to analyze the business of computing
• 3D printed materials used in the history of computing book
• Podcasts referenced
• Citations
• Image Attributions (forthcoming)
• Oral Histories and Written Interviews (forthcoming)
• Special Thanks

Books used in researching and documenting the history of computers

1. In the Beginning was the Command Line, Neal Stephenson https://www.amazon.com/Beginning-was-Command-Line/dp/0380815931
2. UNIX: A History and a Memoir, Brian Kernighan https://www.amazon.com/UNIX-History-Memoir-Brian-Kernighan/dp/1695978552
3. Steve Jobs, Walter Isaacson https://www.amazon.com/Steve-Jobs-Walter-Isaacson-audiobook/dp/B07ZMKXMTG
4. How the Internet Happened, Brian McCullough https://www.amazon.com/How-Internet-Happened-Netscape-iPhone/dp/1631493078
5. Engines of the Mind: The Evolution of the Computer from Mainframes to Microprocessors, Joel N. Shurkin https://www.amazon.com/Engines-Mind-Evolution-Mainframes-Microprocessors/dp/0393314715
6. That Will Never Work: The Birth of Netflix and the Amazing Life of an Idea: Marc Randolph https://www.amazon.com/That-Will-Never-Work-audiobook/dp/B07X7JH5ZH
7. Before the Computer, James Cortada https://www.amazon.com/Before-Computer-Burroughs-Remington-1865-1956/dp/0691050457
8. Hatching Twitter: A True Story of Money, Power, Friendship, and Betrayal: Nick Bolton https://www.amazon.com/Hatching-Twitter-Story-Friendship-Betrayal/dp/1591847087
9. Queuing Systems, Leonard Kleinrock https://www.amazon.com/Queueing-Systems-Vol-Computer-Applications/dp/047149111X (Volumes 1 and 2)
10. Encyclopedia of Computer Science and Engineering, Ralson https://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-computer-science-engineering-Anthony/dp/0442244967
11. Dealers of Lightning: Xerox PARC and the Dawn of the Computer Age: Michael Hiltzik https://www.amazon.com/Dealers-Lightning-Xerox-PARC-Computer/dp/0887309895
12. Dungeons and Desktops: The History of Computer Role-Playing Games 2e, Matt Barton https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Desktops-History-Computer-Role-Playing/dp/1568814119
13. Computer Peripherals That You Can Build, Wolfe https://www.amazon.com/Computer-peripherals-that-you-build/dp/083062449X
14. Computer Lib/Dream Machines, Ted Nelson https://www.amazon.com/Computer-Lib-Dream-Machines-Revised/dp/0914845497
15. The Launch Pad: Inside Y Combinator, Silicon Valley’s Most Exclusive School for Startups, Randall Stross https://www.amazon.com/Launch-Pad-Inside-Combinator/dp/1591846587
16. How to Mutate and Take Over the World, R. U. Sirius and St Jude https://www.amazon.com/How-Mutate-Take-Over-World/dp/0345392167
17. Computing with Quantum Cats, John Gribbon https://www.amazon.com/Computing-Quantum-Cats-Colossus-Qubits/dp/1616149213
18. The Second Age of Computer Science, Subrata Dasgupta https://www.amazon.com/Second-Age-Computer-Science-Neural/dp/B07LFKBN4T
19. Idea Man: A Memoir by the Cofounder of Microsoft, Paul Allen https://www.amazon.com/Idea-Man-Memoir-Cofounder-Microsoft/dp/1591843820
20. The Department of Mad Scientists, Michael Belfiore https://www.amazon.com/Department-Mad-Scientists-Remaking-Artificial/dp/0062000659
21. The Imagineers of War, Sharon Weinberger https://www.amazon.com/Imagineers-War-Untold-Pentagon-Changed/dp/0385351798
22. Technology and Me: 40 years in technology, David Daniel Wertman https://www.amazon.com/Technology-Me-40-years-technology/dp/1521969957
23. The Perfect Thing, Steven Levy https://www.amazon.com/Perfect-Thing-Shuffles-Commerce-Coolness/dp/0743285220
24. Startupland, Mikkel Svane, Carlye Adler https://www.startupland.com
25. Wild Ride: Inside Uber's Quest for World Domination, Adam Lashinsky https://www.amazon.com/Wild-Ride-Inside-Ubers-Domination/dp/0735211396
26. The Airbnb Story: How Three Ordinary Guys Disrupted an Industry, Made Billions…and Created Plenty of Controversy, Leigh Gallagher https://www.amazon.com/Airbnb-Story-Ordinary-Disrupted-Controversy/dp/0544952669
27. The Curious History of Dating: From Jane Austen to Tinder, Nichi Hodgson https://www.amazon.com/Curious-History-Dating-Austen-Tinder/dp/1472138066
28. All the Rave: The Rise and Fall of Shawn Fanning's Napster, Joseph Menn https://www.amazon.com/All-Rave-Shawn-Fannings-Napster-ebook/dp/B0052YWXGS
29. The Story of the Computer: A Technical and Business History, Stephen Marshall https://www.amazon.com/Story-Computer-Technical-Business-History/dp/1546849076
30. The Monk and the Riddle: The Art o