Berlin’s compelling volume is distinguished by an engaging writing style. Her chronological history of the Valley is punctuated by personal insights about the principals. As effective and engaging as the author is, though, it is the nuggets of humor, oddities, and poignant details that truly distinguish the work as a genuine gem. The volume will appeal to many, including those interested in Valley history, biographies of the principals, and insights into early entrepreneurs. The book is also an original contribution: Berlin illuminates unpublished primary sources, materials, and interviews housed in archival collections, and conducted over 70 personal interviews over six years.
Although not covered in great detail, Berlin still manages to reveal intriguing tidbits about the luminaries of computing legend, that is, Steve Wozniak, Steve Jobs, and Robert Noyce. However, just as engaging--if not even more fascinating--are the seven underrated disrupters who played critical roles in shaping the Valley’s particular high-tech ecosystem.
The chapters about these Silicon troublemakers are divided into an introduction, five chronological periods (“Arrival: 1969-1971,” “Building: 1972-1975,” “Challenges: 1976-1977,” “Triumph: 1979-1981,” and “Transition: 1983-1984”), two sets of illustrations, a conclusion, and a postscript.
Five major industries were born in Silicon Valley: personal computing, video games, advanced semiconductor logic, modern venture capital, and biotechnology. In particular, the seven individuals highlighted demonstrate her thesis. Bob Taylor initiated the precursor to the Internet, ARPANET, and contributed to the personal computer. Mike Markkula served as Apple’s first chairman, but he is often overlooked in deference to Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs. Sandra Kurtzig, an early software entrepreneur, was the first woman to take a technology company public. Bob Swanson cofounded Genentech. Al Alcorn created the first commercially successful video game, Atari’s Pong. Fawn Alvarez (later Talbott) began her career as an assembler on a factory line and yet worked her way to an executive suite. Niels Reimers transformed how university innovations are marketed to the public; throughout this process, he helped launch the biotech industry. Berlin identifies the two traits that all these troublemakers share, since they have little in common other than persistence and audaciousness. The troublemakers improvised all along the way.
Mystified by the raucous and unruly nature of an American political life marked by demonstrations and assassinations, Silicon Valley by contrast arrived in the late 1960s and early 1970s. By the early 1970s, an underground groundswell was emerging in what would commonly be known as Silicon Valley, shifting capital away from East Coast financial centers. Financial challenges and suspicion arose just after the mid 1970s, but by 1976 leading publications had popularized the phrase “Silicon Valley.” The late 70s and early 80s were a time of triumph, and Silicon Valley and the District of Columbia solidified their connections. Before the mid 1980s Silicon Valley transitioned, that is, early founders left their companies and new players emerged.
The author demonstrates that although Silicon Valley has its blemishes, the years covered in this important volume saw the launch of the five major industries mentioned above. Taylor passed away in 2017, after receiving many awards for his contributions; Alcorn helps middle school and high school students with Hack the Future; Alvarez-Talbott left the Valley and is an active volunteer and gardener; Kurtzig chairs a cloud-based enterprise software company; Markkula retired and handed over Apple to Jobs; Swanson’s Genentech continues to innovate, though it was acquired by Roche in 2009; and Reimers retired to a small California town to live quietly. Silicon Valley has consistently reinvented itself; today it is led by web and search businesses and cloud, mobile, and social networking industries.
The chronology of Silicon Valley emerges through the tiny gems of irony, oddities, and instructive details. For example, Alvarez-Talbott moved up the corporate ladder due to spunk, clever ideas (despite a lack of academic credentials), and the ability to think independently of the restrictive gender discrimination of the age. Female chief executive officers (CEOs) like Kurtzig were almost unheard of at the time--a time when, for example, she had to trim her long red fingernails and paint them a pale, nearly invisible shade to appear more professional. Kurtzig originally named a manual MAMA, for “manufacturing management,” but was advised that the title would never be approved since no one would agree to run a company’s manufacturing operations with a “MAMA” system. Kurtzig agreed to rename her program MANMAN; after all, she reasoned, it often took two men to do the work of one mom.
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