[Here’s the ‘side project to my side project’ StoryBundle I decided to curate a couple of months back – bundling some really neat ‘history of tech’ books together! Blown away that we got Fire In The Valley – a seminal history & the basis for Pirates Of Silicon Valley – in there, & there’s LOTS of other goodness too – Gates, Google, Ada Lovelace, & some super-entertaining personal nerd stories. And my curator cut & optional charity payment goes to the Computer History Museum, of course.]
Continuing its popular “pay what you want” ebook bundles, StoryBundle is presenting a special new collection – the Nerd History Bundle. This specially picked set of 7 seminal computer/nerd history books once again features a multitude of great titles for a fraction of their retail price.
The basic purchase tier ($3 or above) for the Nerd History StoryBundle includes ‘A Microsoft Life’ by Stephen Toulouse, a wittily entertaining jaunt through a decade and a half at Microsoft, with lots of behind-the-scenes detail and charming anecdotes. Also included is ‘Priming the Pump’ by David & Theresa Welsh, a rare in-depth look into the history of the TRS-80 and how the authors got personally involved in the blossoming of the ‘PC revolution’.
Also available at this tier is ‘Irregularity’, edited by Jared Shurin – a fascinating set fictional of short stories that weaves delicious stories from the maverick scientists who set the scene for computing, from Isaac Newton to the sainted Ada Lovelace.
The higher-tier rewards – available at the payment tier of $12 or your local equivalent – include ‘Fire in the Valley’ by Michael Swaine & Paul Freiberger, possibly the seminal history of the PC, and the basis for the ’90s ‘Jobs vs. Gates’ TV movie Pirates Of Silicon Valley. Also included is ‘The Google Way’ by Bernard Girard, a smartly written 2009 business book that analyzes Google’s crown jewels – its search engine and its culture itself.
Also featured in the higher tier is ‘Terrible Nerd’ from Kevin Savetz, a charming, geeky autobiography that reminisces about the 300 baud modems, type-in programs and nowadays shockingly primitive computing experiences of ’80s youth. Finally featured is the 20th anniversary edition of ‘Gates’, the 1993 biography of Bill Gates is widely considered the definitive history of the rise of Microsoft and Gates himself – a detailed, readable look at the startling rise to power of the nerds. – Simon Carless
The initial titles in the Nerd History StoryBundle (minimum $3 to purchase) are:
- A Microsoft Life by Stephen Toulouse
- Irregularity by Jared Shurin
- Priming the Pump: How TRS-80 Enthusiasts Helped Spark the PC Revolution by David Welsh and Theresa Welsh
If you pay more than the bonus price of just $12, you get all three of the regular titles, plus four more:
- Gates: How Microsoft’s Mogul Reinvented an Industry–and Made Himself the Richest Man in America (20th anniversary edition) by Stephen Manes and Paul Andrews
- Fire in the Valley: The Birth and Death of the Personal Computer (3rd edition) by Michael Swaine and Paul Freiberger
- Terrible Nerd by Kevin Savetz
- The Google Way by Bernard Girard
Finally, both the optional charity and the curator’s full cut from this bundle will be – appropriately – going to the Computer History Museum – a Silicon Valley-based nonprofit organization with a four-decade history as the world’s leading institution & museum exploring the history of computing, and its ongoing impact on society.
The bundle is available for a very limited time only, via http://www.storybundle.com. It allows easy reading on computers, smartphones, and tablets as well as Kindle and other ereaders via file transfer, email, and other methods. You get multiple DRM-free formats (.epub, .mobi and some .pdf) for all books!
StoryBundle was created to give a platform for independent authors to showcase their work, and a source of quality titles for thirsty readers. StoryBundle works with authors to create bundles of ebooks that can be purchased by readers at their desired price. Before starting StoryBundle, Founder Jason Chen covered technology and software as an editor for Gizmodo.com and Lifehacker.com.
For more information, visit our website at storybundle.com, tweet us at @storybundle and like us on Facebook.
[BONUS: Here’s the descriptions I wrote for each book for the Storybundle website!]
A Microsoft Life – Stephen Toulouse
“A wittily entertaining jaunt through a decade and a half at Microsoft, with lots of behind-the-scenes detail and charming anecdotes on the people and process behind the Seattle tech behemoth.”
Priming the Pump: How TRS-80 Enthusiasts Helped Spark the PC Revolution – David & Theresa Welsh
“A rare in-depth look into the history of the TRS-80, the home computing boom of the late ’70s/early ’80s, and how the authors got personally involved in the blossoming of the ‘PC revolution’.”
Irregularity – edited by Jared Shurin
“The one fiction tome in this bundle, this fascinating set of short stories, originally commissioned in conjunction with the National Maritime Museum in the UK, weaves delicious stories from the maverick scientists who set the scene for computing, from Isaac Newton to the sainted Ada Lovelace.”
The Google Way – Bernard Girard
“A smartly written 2009 business book that analyzes Google’s crown jewel – its search engine and related ad networks- and looks at the culture and technology that has made the company one of the world’s dominant tech firms.”
Terrible Nerd – Kevin Savetz
“A childhood of the ’80s or ’90s – for the nerds among us – often included all kinds of tinkering on computers, and Savetz’s geeky autobiography reminisces about the 300 baud modems, type-in programs and nowadays shockingly primitive computing experiences of our youth.”
Fire in the Valley: The Birth and Death of the Personal Computer (3rd edition) – Michael Swaine & Paul Freiberger
“Possibly the seminal history of the PC, and the basis for the ’90s ‘Jobs vs. Gates’ TV movie Pirates Of Silicon Valley, this book starts at Babbage and spans all the way to 2014, but is most special on the genesis of Apple, the IBM PC, the Macintosh, and the personal computing revolution.”
Gates: How Microsoft’s Mogul Reinvented an Industry–and Made Himself the Richest Man in America (20th anniversary edition) – Stephen Manes & Paul Andrews
“This 1993 biography of Bill Gates is widely considered the definitive history of the rise of Microsoft and Gates himself – a detailed, readable look at the startling rise to power of the nerds.”