Brian McCullough is a two-decade veteran of the internet industry and the founder of various web-based startups. Host of the Internet History Podcast, he was named a 2016 TED Resident. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.
"Brian McCullough vividly recounts the brilliant hunches, happy
accidents, and fortuitous timing that converged to create the first
25 years of the internet era. Even for those of us who lived
through it, it's astonishing to step back and realize the scale of
the changes in human habits, communication, and society as a whole
that have occurred in just one generation."
*Chris Anderson, head of TED*
"Mr. McCullough takes a broader view, showing how a handful of
powerful companies—all of them American, in his telling—came to
dominate web technology. In his story, the internet didn’t happen
only because of wizardly coding and cheaper computers. It also
happened because of serendipity, failure, friendships and blood
feuds.... Such historical tidbits help us see that today’s tech
titans didn’t arrive on the scene as superhuman."
*Jon Gertner, Wall Street Journal*
"For those of us who’ve grown up with computers and the Internet,
McCullough offers an insider’s look at the unplanned and undirected
romp that enabled the web to infiltrate our lives. He provides
fresh perspectives on the famous names – including Gates, Page,
Jobs and Zuckerberg – but, more entertainingly, introduces the
lesser-known geniuses, like Sean Parker with Napster and Plaxo, as
well as the academic godfathers, such as J.C.R. Licklider of ARPA.
McCullough sprinkles his well-told tale with trivia nuggets, such
as the first web advertisement being for a Silicon Valley law firm,
and he shows how success resulted from some combination of timing,
brilliance, and an uncanny awareness that consumers want unlimited
selection and instant gratification. How the Internet Happened is a
fast-paced and enjoyable perspective on our lives, as well as a
compelling exploration for how humanity and computers came together
in profound ways."
*Richard Munson, author of Tesla: Inventor of the Modern*
"How the Internet Happened is destined to become the definitive
text on how the web became big business—and came to dominate every
facet of our lives, from communication to commerce. Painstakingly
researched and deftly written, McCullough gives us a comprehensive
guide to the startups and CEOs who ushered in the internet
age."
*Brian Merchant, author of The One Device: The Secret History of
the iPhone*
"Along with profiling the internet’s key players, from Bill Gates
to Mark Zuckerberg, McCullough provides an entertaining and
informative technological history which computer geeks and readers
interested in everything from sociology to business and media will
relish."
*Carl Hays, Booklist*
"The internet was not meant for the likes of us—and yet we have it,
through means that tech historian McCullough capably recounts in
this wide-ranging history of the internet era. . . . Most of the
individual components of McCullough’s story, which closes with the
arrival of the “completely, conceptually perfect” iPhone in 2007,
are well-documented, but few other histories of modern technology
connect them so fluently. In this, the narrative resembles Steven
Levy’s by now ancient Hackers (1984) and John Markoff’s more recent
What the Dormouse Said (2005); it compares favorably to both. A
tasty, educational treat for tech heads and other web
denizens."
*Kirkus Reviews, starred review*
"A detailed and highly insightful overview of the influencers and
ideas that have shaped the everyday technologies we take for
granted, showing how the Internet has infiltrated our homes and
lives to the degree it is today. . . . Tech enthusiasts and
students of business, marketing, and ecommerce will benefit from
the detailed chronicling of the early Internet days. Readers will
delight in being reminded of long-forgotten platforms and in
understanding how Internet evangelists, Wall Street, and the
moneyed elite have shaped our online lives."
*Library Journal, starred review*
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