Rating:  - Outstanding, wonderful, inspiring, and above all a must read
This is the definitive history of the Internet. Its emphasis is on the Arpanet which has its own rich and very important history.
If you really care about the network you use every day then buy this book.
Rating:  - An 8 not a 10.
The book is chock-full of information on Arpa and ArpaNet, but sort of slacks off around 1987.I guess that's only to be expected, the idea was to chronicle the beginnings of the Internet and by the late 80s it was too large for such a slim book to do that era justice.If you want to learn about how the original ArpaNet was put together, the people behind it, and how the Internet's technical foundations were laid, the book is excellent. If you're interested in how Usenet started, how the Web came to be what it is, this isn't the book you want. The book covers the older history, and skims over recent events. It's still quite a valuable addition to your bookshelf. I'm sure someone will come along one day and write a history of the web, usenet, irc and the evolution of MUSHes. The book reads very easily, I thought the balance between the technical and the dramatic story was perfect.
Rating: - A True Cybernaut can't NOT read this!
Though this book could have used some more information
on the amazing expansion of the net, this book is well
done and a must read for any true netizen. It's hard to
believe that the net was little more than an idea in
someone's head at one time.
Rating: - One of the most interesting books I've ever read!
I knew what it was about and I honestly didn't think anyone could make an interesting, even exciting book out of this subject. I couldn't put it down. Spending most of my career in the data processing world; I could relate to much that was discussed in the book. I found the description of the personalities (especially Licklider) involved in the creation of the 'net, to be the glue that held the story together.I also liked the way the authors explained many of the technical issues, some of which I did not understand before reading the book.
I would recommend the book to anyone interested in a good story about technological invention
Rating: - Add Hafner & Lyon to Levy and Stolle as chroniclers of IS ag
We all lived through the Beatles, Jefferson Airplane and the Vietnam War. But what was happening in the new agency called Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA)? And how did they ever come up with this thing called the Internet?
This is an important book from a historigraphical perspective. It tells he story of the people who conceived of, and started a network of computers talking to each other. Needless to say, it was not without struggle and frustration. But the level of precision which they demanded assured a lasting legacy.
Besides describing the beginnings of the Internet, the authors describe decisions that went into molding early services, Telnet, FTP and E-Mail.
Hafner & Lyon have guarenteed themselves a place on the shelf along side Steven Levy (Hackers) and Clifford Stolle (The Cuckoo's Egg).
Carl Dolmetsch / Newport News, VA
carld@visi.net
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