- Hardcover: 272 pages
- Publisher: O'Reilly Media; 1 edition (25 May 2004)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0596006624
- ISBN-13: 978-0596006624
- Product Dimensions: 21.8 x 14.8 x 2.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 425,658 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Description
Product Description
"The computer world is like an intellectual Wild West, in which you can shoot anyone you wish with your ideas, if you're willing to risk the consequences. " --from Hackers & Painters: Big Ideas from the Computer Age, by Paul Graham
We are living in the computer age, in a world increasingly designed and engineered by computer programmers and software designers, by people who call themselves hackers. Who are these people, what motivates them, and why should you care?
Consider these facts: Everything around us is turning into computers. Your typewriter is gone, replaced by a computer. Your phone has turned into a computer. So has your camera. Soon your TV will. Your car was not only designed on computers, but has more processing power in it than a room-sized mainframe did in 1970. Letters, encyclopedias, newspapers, and even your local store are being replaced by the Internet.
Hackers & Painters: Big Ideas from the Computer Age, by Paul Graham, explains this world and the motivations of the people who occupy it. In clear, thoughtful prose that draws on illuminating historical examples, Graham takes readers on an unflinching exploration into what he calls "an intellectual Wild West."
The ideas discussed in this book will have a powerful and lasting impact on how we think, how we work, how we develop technology, and how we live. Topics include the importance of beauty in software design, how to make wealth, heresy and free speech, the programming language renaissance, the open-source movement, digital design, internet startups, and more.
From the Publisher
Written in clear, narrative style, Hackers & Painters examines issues such as the rightness of web-based applications, the programming language renaissance, spam filtering, the Open Source Movement, Internet startups and more. In each essay, Graham moves beyond widely held beliefs about the way that programmers work as he tells important stories about the kinds of people behind tech innovations, revealing distinctions about their characters and their craft. No hackers reading this book will fail to recognize themselves within these pages. No programmer will put it down without new thoughts actively percolating.
Inside This Book
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Paul Graham is clearly a man with opinions. This collection of essays ranges from the trials of being a nerdy teenager (absolutely brilliant) to neo-liberal politics (definitely not my thing) to how to fix spam (interesting) to the merits of various programming languages (in case you're wondering, Lisp is the greatest...)
I'd recommend any programmer to read this book. He has a very different perspective to most modern writers and that's refreshing, though I don't always agree with his conclusions. He also writes very well and it's a good read.
Unfortunately I would guess that large sections of it are off limits to non-programmers: it's hard to buy a book when you're not going to get half of it. Even the supposedly non-techie chapters tend to throw in comments about (for example) static typing here and there.
Chapter 1 is a brilliantly insightful "nerd's eye" view into how secondary school culture works and everyone should read it (particularly anyone with an interest in teenage education).
I'd recommend any programmer to read this book. He has a very different perspective to most modern writers and that's refreshing, though I don't always agree with his conclusions. He also writes very well and it's a good read.
Unfortunately I would guess that large sections of it are off limits to non-programmers: it's hard to buy a book when you're not going to get half of it. Even the supposedly non-techie chapters tend to throw in comments about (for example) static typing here and there.
Chapter 1 is a brilliantly insightful "nerd's eye" view into how secondary school culture works and everyone should read it (particularly anyone with an interest in teenage education).
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I can't describe how disappointed I am in this book and it's writing, though "rambling narrative" may be a more accurate description. Having taken in the other reviews prior to purchasing the book I confess my surprise to finding it so immediately objectionable. I'm currently averaging a book-a-week and most of them are business stories or experiences, this is the first one I've felt compelled to review, and negatively.
In particular I would bring the authors attention to two things. Firstly that in the preface you describe Steve Jobs as a programmer; this couldn't be further from the truth given what articles and stories I've read over the years. Secondly I think it a serious misjudgement to include the paragraph "E tables contained the kids with mild cases of Down's Syndrome, what in the language of the time we called 'retards.'"; as someone with a disabled relative and a cousin with Down Syndrome - true account or not - I found this offensive.
Would recommend prospective buyers download a sample before purchasing!
In particular I would bring the authors attention to two things. Firstly that in the preface you describe Steve Jobs as a programmer; this couldn't be further from the truth given what articles and stories I've read over the years. Secondly I think it a serious misjudgement to include the paragraph "E tables contained the kids with mild cases of Down's Syndrome, what in the language of the time we called 'retards.'"; as someone with a disabled relative and a cousin with Down Syndrome - true account or not - I found this offensive.
Would recommend prospective buyers download a sample before purchasing!
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I absolutely loved reading this book. I didn't want it to end. The insights to many aspects of IT and life were very interesting to me. This is the kind of book you shouldn't read in bed because you'll never go to sleep! Anybody interested in IT and programming should read this book.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
brilliant, clear writing
An intelligent, clear, well-written book. I give it 5 stars. No question. Theres nothing boring or ivory tower about this book. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Mark Murphy
Realising your hacker potential for you...
In between the right wing, Ayn Rand-style lecturing on the virtues of the untrammelled free market, there are some important and interesting insights here into the mind-set of... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Dr. G. SPORTON
Art of programming? More like libertarian tract
I thought this book would cover the art of programming. Don't know why, something about the title perhaps? Read more
Published on 11 Jun 2007 by Hannah Dee
A thought provoking read
As the title suggests this book is made up of a collection of essays ranging over a number of subjects. Read more
Published on 9 Mar 2005 by "amazon16434"
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