The innovators: how a group of hackers, geniuses, and geeks created the digital revolution (Isaacson, W.; 2014) [book review]

• Published in: IEEE annals of the history of computing Vol. 38; no. 1; pp. 94 - c3
• Main Author: Russell, Andrew
• Format: Book Review
• Language: English
• Published: IEEE 01.01.2016
• Subjects: digital computing; digital era; digital revolution; Digital systmes; history of computing; history of technology; personal computing; Software development; Technological innovation
• ISSN: 1058-6180
• DOI: 10.1109/MAHC.2016.8

When chroniclers of technological change in the 20th century worship innovation as if it were a god, they often feel freed of the obligation to define the object of their worship. So it is with Walter Isaacson and his popular 2014 book, The Innovators, which begins with a beguiling confession by the author that innovation is “a buzzword, drained of clear meaning.” Rather than address the implications of the elusiveness of the innovation concept or set down the terms of his engagement with the history of computing, which is more closely the subject of his book, the authod does neither, thus squandering a chance to present himself as what he probably aspires to be: a bridge builder between the two mighty rivers of innovation studies. On the one hand, the author recounts the birth, life, and death of digital artifacts; on the other hand, he highlights the people and subcultures that shape digital innovations. But without a framework for understanding innovation, as activity and aspiration, the author squanders an opportunity to clarify the relationship between the imperatives of digital electronics and the various ways in which cultures and personalities construct and reconstruct their computers and computer networks in pursuit of human aims.