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Book:   Revolution in The Valley
Subject:   Flashback!
Date:   2004-12-20 18:48:02
From:   Uncle Dave
Rating:  StarStarStarStarStar

This is a really interesting book for those of us who were around and aware at the Mac's inception, and especially those of us who developed Mac applications usng the toolbox. It was fun to recall products like Alice, Amaze, ThunderScan, and the Calculator Construction Set. It is a relief to have survived the tight memory constraints, the concerns about pre-flights, and hoping all our code really was 32-bit clean. I can't believe we were programming the details of event loops and event handling.


The thinking and discoveries during the development are fascinating. The Mac was so radical that, even though it took five years to come to life, it was still the most advanced personal computer of its time.


I really like seeing the notes people kept at the time.


My only reservation about the content is that most of the anecdotes that still appear humorous to Andy are flat in the reading; you had to be there, I suppose.


And my only complaint about the book is that the binding is very poor for a hardback, with pages loosening up as you read.


But if you were "there" in '84, get this book.

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