[8] Two Book Reviews: Netizens REVIEW from CMC by Mark Horton Netizens by Michael Hauben and Ronda Hauben Published by the IEEE Computer Society Netizens describes the history of the Internet, focusing especially on the formation of the Usenet bulletin board system. For me it was a trip down memory lane. The social and political implications of opening up communication among a group of academic philosophers was groundbreaking, and Netizens is there to give us the play-by-play. The book includes interviews with the found ers of Usenet and with the pioneers who contrib uted to its character and growth. The story of how Tom Truscott's summer job at Bell Labs, volley ball, chess, and "rising at the crack of noon" turned into the seed of Usenet is inspiring, especially in this age of cost-cutting and disposable computer software. The authors make good use of an archive of the first few years of Usenet postings. Those of us who were there remember much, but the archive is like putting history on videotape. Quotes from the formative days remind us of the issues of the time, such as the unwillingness of the ARPANET to talk to Usenet; censorship; and how the high cost of getting Usenet to Europe was overcome. Chapters of the book tell the history of many of the building blocks of the Internet. The early days of the ARPANET are chronicled, from the selection of the first four sites in 1968 to the people involved and how they solved the early problems of the net. Netizens also tells the story of the UNIX operating system, how it came about, the key contributors, even how the "grep" command got its name. Photos from the 1950s showing computer center machine rooms with IBM 704 components taking up the entire room, key researchers at places like MIT, computer chess tournaments, and the founders of Usenet add to the sense of history. This is an excellent book. The academic style means you'll have to think to read it. This book is a vital element in any Internet historian's library. ------------------------ REVIEW from ;LOGIN: by Daniel Lazenby dlazenby@ix.netcom.com Netizens: On the History and Impact of Usenet and the Internet Michael Hauben and Ronda Hauben. IEEE Computer Society, 1997, ISBN 0-8186-7706-6. Pp. 345, $28.95 The title says it all. This book tells the story of how ordinary people have made and can make a difference. Often the revolution caused by a technology and the people who quietly nurtured and fostered it into being is not recorded until well after the fact. Netizens strives to capture the history while some founders are still able to provide firsthand accounts. This easily read book chronicles the evolution of Usenet and the Internet. Not only does Netizens chronicle the past; it strives to illustrate the life-changing influence Usenet and the Internet have had on people and society. The book also takes a few moments to ponder the changes yet to come. This book is based on academic research papers that Michael and Ronda orginally published on the Internet. Netizens is broken into four major parts, "The Present," "The Past," "And the Future," and "Contributions Toward Developing a Theoretical Frame work." The first part recaps what has been created and how it was created. "The Past" reviews where Usenet and the Internet came from. This part of the book explores the grassroots beginnings of Usenet and the gestation of what is now known as the Internet. The third part explores the effects of the net on individuals, organizations, and societal structures. "Contributions Toward Developing a Theoretical Framework" contains two chapters. The first compares the printing press, Usenet, and the Internet. At the time of its invention, the printing press created both communication and information revolutions. This part of the book presents Usenet's and the Internet's potential for creating another, much grander, communication and information revolution. In this day of ubiquitous modems, the Intenet, Internet Providers, and personal computers, one sometimes forget there was a time when these things were not widely available. Many people and organizations were responsible for the creation of the Internet and Usenet. Much thanks should go to the Department of Defense for funding the early research. Among the many people involved, several stood out. J.C.R. Licklider and Robert Taylor are two names associated with the founding of the Internet. They saw the computer as a communications tool with global connectivity and as a way to share both computer and human resources. This perspective was a very radical idea in 1968, when computers from different manufacturers could not exchange data or communicate with each other. With Department of Defense research dollars and the Advance Research Projects Agency (ARPA), Licklider solved the immediate problem of getting incompatible computers to talk. But he never lost his global vision. His efforts resulted in the computer communications networks (ARPANET). The global Internet can trace its roots back to this simple ARPANET. What if you were a poor, underendowed university without Defense Department research dollars? How could you get your computers talking to each other? Enter the "poor man's ARPANET." Tom Truscott, Jim Ellis, and Steve Bellovin all had a desire to automatically share files and articles among several computer platforms. Fortunately, they were university students and cash poor. So they did the only thing they could do: they acquired some university computer time and an auto dialer and applied a little creative UNIX hacking (the positive kind). Using these limited resources, these fellows developed what is now known as Usenet. Their first incarnation of Usenet simply dialed another computer, checked for new files, and then copied all the new files to itself. They set up their first Usenet network on three university computers. Within a few years, these three nodes grew into several hundred nodes and eventually became part of the Internet. This book illustrates that ordinary people with limited resources and a vision can made a difference. The grass-root's creation of Usenet by Tom Truscott, Jim Ellis, Steve Bellovin, and others is such an example. People with significant resources and a vision can solve a specific, localized problem and simultaneously lay the foundation for solving global needs. Licklider's refusal to set his sights lower than the vision of a global computer [network] is an example of exceeding short-term expectations. Look closely while reading the book, and you may find yourself viewing the world a little bit differently when you finish. ----------------------- Review from ;login:, Vol. 22, No. 6 December, 1997, pages 56-57, Newsletter of USENIX ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reprinted from the Amateur Computerist Vol 8 No 1 Winter/Spring 1998. The whole issue or a subscription are available for free via email. Send a request to jrh@ais.org -------------------------------------------------------------------------------