John Markoff (1) (1949–)
Author of Cyberpunk: Outlaws and Hackers on the Computer Frontier
For other authors named John Markoff, see the disambiguation page.
About the Author
John Markoff has been a technology and science reporter at the New York Times since 1988. He was part of the team of Times reporters that won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting and is the author of What the Dormouse Said: How the Sixties Counterculture Shaped the Personal Computer. show more He lives in San Francisco, California. show less
Image credit: Robert Scoble
Works by John Markoff
Associated Works
Takedown: The Pursuit and Capture of Kevin Mitnick, America's Most Wanted Computer Outlaw - by the Man Who Did It (1996) — Collaboration — 359 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1949-10-24
- Gender
- male
- Education
- University of Oregon
Members
Reviews
CYBERPUNK: Outlaws and Hackers on the Computer… by Katie Hafner
I read this when it came out. It was rad! It really initiated my interest in the internet and got me into Library school.
Stewart Brand is an interesting guy with a strange life, many adventures and projects, and an incredible number of interesting friends, acquaintances, and partners. I really loved one of his early projects as a teenager “The Whole Catalog” but that is only a tiny bit of what he has done in his life. I also think he was irresponsible, prone to creating cool-sounding but meaningless slogans, and I’m not sure if he really came up with anything that will last, including his “Long Now” clock. I guess cultural historians in a hundred years or 500 years can discuss that. All in all a fun book to read, although I’m not sure it made me like Brand more or less.… (more)
History of robotics, AI, and "intelligence augmentation" over the last 60 years or so. Markoff is a great reporter but this book felt more like a string of long NYT Magazine articles than a cohesive book. My preference would have been for a little less detail about the inventors involved and a little more thought about what it all means. But a good book anyway.
A most fascinating book, which describes how crooks by the names of Steve and William turned the "machines of loving grace" - created by geniuses like Douglas Engelbart and Alan Kay and promoted by dreamers like Fred Moore and Stewart Brand - into tools to spread hate and fake news, exploit the human labour, and make the rich richer.
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Awards
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Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 4
- Also by
- 2
- Members
- 1,219
- Popularity
- #21,068
- Rating
- 3.5
- Reviews
- 15
- ISBNs
- 42
- Languages
- 5
