There was a time, not too long ago, when the typewriter and notebook ruled, and the computer as an everyday tool was simply a vision. Revolution in the Valley traces this vision back to its earliest roots: the hallways and backrooms of Apple, where the groundbreaking Macintosh computer was born. The book traces the development of the Macintosh, from its inception as an underground skunkworks project in 1979 to its triumphant introduction in 1984 and beyond. The stories in Revolution in the Valley come on extremely good authority. That's because author Andy Hertzfeld was a core member of the team that built the Macintosh system software, and a key creator of the Mac's radically new user interface software. One of the chosen few who worked with the mercurial Steve Jobs, you might call him the ultimate insider. When Revolution in the Valley begins, Hertzfeld is working on Apple's first attempt at a low-cost, consumer-oriented computer: the Apple II. He sees that Steve Jobs is luring some of the company's most brilliant innovators to work on a tiny research effort the Macintosh. Hertzfeld manages to make his way onto the Macintosh research team, and the rest is history. Through lavish illustrations, period photos (many never before published), and Hertzfeld's vivid first-hand accounts, Revolution in the Valley reveals what it was like to be there at the birth of the personal computer revolution. The story comes to life through the book's portrait of the talented and often eccentric characters who made up the Macintosh team. Now, over 20 years later, millions of people are benefiting from the technical achievements of this determined and brilliant group of people.

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 42 Ratings

A must read for any Mac enthusiast! - 2007-03-08
Reviewer Rating:
Mac lovers find out how the Apple Macintosh was born. A beautiful book with great photos and graphics, filled with juicy snippets of how it all came to be. It's a love story of sorts of a team of passionate young programmers led by the one and only Steve Jobs. I love thi book!

Fantastic! - 2008-04-18
Reviewer Rating:
This is the best and the definitive book about the development of the Mac 128K (and Apple's early years) and the people behind it.
Andy writes it with great competence.
A text that is so delicious to read that when you finish the book you'll be sad that you read the last phrase.

A must buy.

It's ok. - 2007-08-23
Reviewer Rating:
It's a good book for collection, but I can't say it's a great book as other reviewers say. It's better to see the book before purchase it.

Great Book - 2009-10-16
Reviewer Rating:
This is a great read, giving an insiders view to Mac in the late 70's early 80's.

Why not 5 stars? - 2007-07-09
Reviewer Rating:
Surely, it is 5 star book as concerns the theme and the general story. It is very difficult to find a book in which the protagonists describe step by step the creation of the first macintosh. A must have book that every mac fan and generally computer lover must read. But, why not 5 stars? Beacause the story could be more narrative and more "magical"

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