Ask HN: Book recommendations about the history of the internet

6 pointsdefault-user3y ago4 comments

Hello HN,

I would love to hear your recommendations on books about the history of the internet.

The topic is broad and vague, but I'd generally be interested in the different protocols, key people, how it was used throughout time, browsers even, and whatever else that you think might be related.

I am not in CS/IT (I'm an academic scientist) so it wouldn't have to be overly technical, but I do appreciate some detail.

Many thanks!

4 comments

CrypticShift3y ago

IMO for specific subject matters (browsers, protocols), you will easily find the best history of the internet on...the internet. It will be more specific and up to date (and not just the usual origins story)

Some suggestions:

- For a well-defined logical path of exploration, Wikipedia category pages are often overlooked https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Internet

- For less defined meandering, Are.na is a treasure trove: https://www.are.na/search?term%5Bfacet%5D=history+internet

I have some books but they are more culturally oriented, not what you want.

bwh23y ago

A few books that I enjoyed:

  * How the Internet Happened: From Netscape to the iPhone
  * Where Wizards Stay Up Late: The Origins of the Internet
  * Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture

jonjacky3y ago

The standard answers for this are:

Where Wizards Stay Up Late by Katie Hafner and Matthew Lyon, about the origins of the Internet.

Weaving the Web by Tim Berners-Lee, about the origins of the World Wide Web.

default-userOP3y ago

Thank you so much for the responses!

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