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Dealers of Lightning: Xerox PARC and the Dawn of the Computer Age Paperback – April 5, 2000

by Michael A. Hiltzik (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 396 ratings
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In the bestselling tradition of The Soul of a New Machine, Dealers of Lightning is a fascinating journey of intellectual creation. In the 1970s and '80s, Xerox Corporation brought together a brain-trust of engineering geniuses, a group of computer eccentrics dubbed PARC. This brilliant group created several monumental innovations that triggered a technological revolution, including the first personal computer, the laser printer, and the graphical interface (one of the main precursors of the Internet), only to see these breakthroughs rejected by the corporation. Yet, instead of giving up, these determined inventors turned their ideas into empires that radically altered contemporary life and changed the world.

Based on extensive interviews with the scientists, engineers, administrators, and executives who lived the story, this riveting chronicle details PARC's humble beginnings through its triumph as a hothouse for ideas, and shows why Xerox was never able to grasp, and ultimately exploit, the cutting-edge innovations PARC delivered. Dealers of Lightning offers an unprecedented look at the ideas, the inventions, and the individuals that propelled Xerox PARC to the frontier of technohistoiy--and the corporate machinations that almost prevented it from achieving greatness.

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  1. Print length
    480 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Harper Business
  4. Publication date
    April 5, 2000
  5. Dimensions
    5.31 x 1.09 x 8 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0887309895
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0887309892
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Read this book. A treat for anyone with even a passing interest in the origins of today's siliconized culture."--"Business Week

About the Author

Michael A. Hiltzik is a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for the Los Angeles Times. In 2004 he won a Gerald Loeb Award, the highest honor in American financial journalism. Hiltzik is the author of Dealers of Lightning: Xerox Parc and the Dawn of the Computer Age and A Death in Kenya. He lives in Southern California with his wife and two sons.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harper Business; First Edition (April 5, 2000)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 480 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0887309895
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0887309892
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.8 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.31 x 1.09 x 8 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 396 ratings

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4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
396 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

james breese
5.0 out of 5 stars Very engaging and accurate description of an important period in the development of the computer.
Reviewed in the United States on February 3, 2024
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Tells the story of how Xerox coulda/shoulda been the leader in the development of the computers that we know today, but flubbed the dub. But also tells many fascinating stories that were happening at that time…
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J. Dangelo
4.0 out of 5 stars Good History Lesson and Case Study
Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2000
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I, like another reviewer, came across this book because it was mentioned in the New New Thing. I picked up and read the book because I've long been interested in Xerox PARC, and how it came to be. I was rewarded with an interesting, and seemingly thorough story about the people, motivations, and resources that came together at PARC.
I enjoyed the detail presented in the background material about the people and circumstances that came together to found PARC. There's a lot of good stuff about so many of the seminal minds and ideas that made much of the computing environment that we use today possible. I believe that most of the major breakthrough inventions that came out of PARC are written about, including the background, people, and stories surrounding them. If you are interested in the history of computing and invention, this is wonderful, fascinating stuff.
I expected more material about how and why Xerox missed so many opportunities to capitalize on the inventions created in this extroadinary place. To be fair, however, the story may be as simple as presented. The author also debunks the myth that Xerox didn't reap any reward from inventions that came out of PARC. But woven throughout the text and stories in this book is a case study about innovation within large companies, and how it is actively killed.
Again, I very much enjoyed this book. The stories that I knew little about before reading it are now much more clear. I found the stories fairly presented and free of jargon.
3 people found this helpful
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James J. Horning
5.0 out of 5 stars A gripping tale about historic computing research.
Reviewed in the United States on March 26, 1999
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If you read only one book about research management, researchers, or computing research this year, this is the one to read.
Dealers of Lightning is the story of the seminal first 13 years of Xerox's famed Palo Alto Research Center, a period in which PARC developed laser printers, the ethernet, internets, networked personal computers, the client-server model, bitmap displays, icons and graphical user interfaces, the desktop metaphor and overlapping windows, and various other foundations of the computing world as we know it today. But this is not primarily a book about technology -- it is about the people who generated it: How they were brought together, how they interacted, and finally, how they dispersed.
Michael Hiltzik is a reporter for the Los Angeles Times, and he has clearly done his homework. He seems to have talked to all the major (and many of the minor) figures involved, read everything that has been written on the subject, and understood most of it. There are ample footnotes, source citations, glossary, and acknowledgements. Some of his accounts are as close to definitive as we are ever likely to see. For example, his story of the famous demos for Steve Jobs that had such an influence on the Lisa and the Macintosh (while recognizing that participants recollections conflict) has more information about them than I was able to gather while at PARC.
As an "unindicted co-conspirator," neither interviewed by Hiltzik, nor mentioned by name (although I was close to the epicenter for the last half of the book's time span), I have both inside information and personal biases. I spotted a few small factual errors, and in some cases my interpretation of events is different than Hiltzik's. Nevertheless, he has done an amazingly good job of capturing the gist. This book is more complete, more accurate, and more nuanced than Smith and Alexander's Fumbling the Future: How Xerox Invented, then Ignored, the First Personal Computer.
Hiltzik is an excellent writer, and the book is a page-turner (even when you know how it ends). The plot is gripping; the cast of characters large and interesting. Parts of the book are too incredible to be published as fiction. I stayed up well past my bedtime three different nights, repeatedly promising myself I'd read "just one more chapter."
My main complaint is that the book is so crowded with people and events that almost all the characters come out one-dimensional, often associated with a single recurring tag phrase. Bob Taylor at least gets a two-dimensional treatment, but it is too often through the eyes of his (numerous) enemies; the admiration and loyalty he inspired in many others is frequently remarked on, but never explained.
The book is littered with insights about research and technology transfer -- both from the characters in the book and from Hiltzik. There are stimulating comments on what worked, and what did not, and why. Of course, I don't agree with all of them, but formulating convincing counter-arguments can be quite challenging and instructive.
I particularly recommend the Epilogue, "Did Xerox Blow It?" Unfortunately, it really needs to be read in the context of the entire book. I first tried reading it out of order, and it didn't have the same force.
Hiltzik discusses fairly even-handedly Steve Jobs's claim that "Xerox could have owned the entire computer industry today. Could have been, you know, a company ten times its size. Could have been IBM--could have been the IBM of the nineties. Could have been the Microsoft of the nineties." After weighing the pros and cons, Hiltzik concludes that it's not clear that Xerox could have ridden the tiger to that kind of success -- even if it had avoided all its known blunders.
Hiltzik also points out that laser printing alone repaid the cost of PARC many times over, and that no company can expect to exploit every worthwhile thing that comes out of a research laboratory.
28 people found this helpful
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David Alan Grier
4.0 out of 5 stars The only real book on the subject but a dated point of view
Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2019
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It's the only real book on Xerox Parc, which played a key role in developing the modern computing environment. The author has done substantial research and presents the story clearly. The book was written in the 80s which means two things. First, the world has progressed and some of the conclusions are not quite as true as they once were. The book has a page on the collapse and (in the author's view) imminent collapse of Apple. Second, it is written with the glib style of 80s New Journalism, which gets tiresome at this perspective. The Xerox leadership had a limited and ultimately failed understanding of how to manage Parc. At base, they were protecting revenue streams that they believed would last longer than they did. Yet, we as readers don't need to be treated to the mockery that the author repeatedly bestows on them. In spite of these limitations, it remains the best book on the subject and likely the only book for the foreseeable future.
13 people found this helpful
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Lauren Warner
5.0 out of 5 stars Great read!
Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2022
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I grew up with this crew as my mother was Dr. Pake's executive assistant. She's scream being referred to as his secretary! We left Rochester NY for my mother's being promoted to this position. I got to see first hand all the genius of what was created here. I was invited to "play" with a lot of what was being developed before the rest of the world knew anything about any of it. I babysat for a lot of these people's kids. My mother was incredibly "close" to Dr. Pake besides being his Executive Assistant. It nearly distroyed him when she took her life. Dr. Pake was a very good man and a close friend who my mother connected to Xerox referred to him as "the good Doctor" and that he was! Such an incredible true story that most of the world does not know. The beginnings of what we all assume started somewhere else...Apple. lol
2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Joachim Spengler
5.0 out of 5 stars Must have
Reviewed in Germany on April 1, 2023
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Eine Fundgrube für Jemanden der sich für die Geschichte der Computer interessiert.
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Paul Berger
2.0 out of 5 stars Print quality
Reviewed in Australia on November 29, 2022
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The print quality of this books makes it very difficult to read. The text is very blurry which is ironic considering subject matter
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Jim Odell
5.0 out of 5 stars Blown cover
Reviewed in Canada on June 8, 2015
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This journal clears up some the myths about Xerox ceding the lead in the tech race of the 70s and 80s. It covers the eureka moments and some whimsical moments as well.
The biggest problem I had was having to run the Kindle app on my Windows Ten machine cause the Fruit machines balked at the task.
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Watford1975
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating insight into one of the worlds biggest ever corporate screw-ups.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 20, 2016
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Fascinating insight into one of the worlds biggest ever corporate screw-ups.
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Sameer Kumar
4.0 out of 5 stars Utterly fascinating. A brilliant book
Reviewed in India on April 23, 2021
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This is one of the most fascinating books I've read in the last few years. For anyone interested in how technology developed from the 1960s to the 1980s, and getting to know the fabulous cast of characters who pushed development, this book is an absolute must-read. Do note, however, that it's a substantial piece of work and most readers will need to invest a fair bit of time - and put in some effort - in order to fully comprehend each chapter thoroughly. Personally, I enjoyed it a lot. Highly recommended 👍👍
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