27 Books like iWoz - Computer Geek to Cult Icon

Hackers

by Steven Levy • 1984

Before the garage, a creed of open access and hands-on tinkering drove the computer revolution.

4.16

9k+

🖥️ Computer History 💻 Personal Computing ☮️ Tech Counterculture

Hackers 96%

Before the garage, a creed of open access and hands-on tinkering drove the computer revolution.

by Steven Levy 1984

4.16

9k+ ratings

🖥️ Computer History 💻 Personal Computing ☮️ Tech Counterculture

Steve Jobs

by Karen Blumenthal • 2012

Garage startup. Public firing. Decade in exile. The return that produced the iPod and iPhone.

3.95

7k+

⌨️ Computer History 💻 Tech Founders 🎨 Product Design

Steve Jobs 96%

Garage startup. Public firing. Decade in exile. The return that produced the iPod and iPhone.

by Karen Blumenthal 2012

3.95

7k+ ratings

⌨️ Computer History 💻 Tech Founders 🎨 Product Design

Return to the Little Kingdom

by Michael Moritz • 2009

A Los Altos garage, two unlikely partners, and the unfiltered early years of Apple.

4.00

1k+

🏞️ Silicon Valley History 🚀 Tech Startups 🏛️ Company Origin Stories

Return to the Little Kingdom 96%

A Los Altos garage, two unlikely partners, and the unfiltered early years of Apple.

by Michael Moritz 2009

4.00

1k+ ratings

🏞️ Silicon Valley History 🚀 Tech Startups 🏛️ Company Origin Stories

Wise Guy

by Guy Kawasaki • 2019

He sold the world on the Macintosh. Then he found what's worth selling your life for.

3.94

685

📘 Tech Memoirs 💻 Silicon Valley 🧳 Immigrant Experience

Wise Guy 95%

He sold the world on the Macintosh. Then he found what's worth selling your life for.

by Guy Kawasaki 2019

3.94

685 ratings

📘 Tech Memoirs 💻 Silicon Valley 🧳 Immigrant Experience

Steve Jobs

by Walter Isaacson • 2011

Unfiltered access, no editorial control: the biography where genius and cruelty share the page.

4.16

1.4M+

🏢 Tech Titans 💻 Silicon Valley History 🔄 Corporate Turnarounds

Steve Jobs 95%

Unfiltered access, no editorial control: the biography where genius and cruelty share the page.

by Walter Isaacson 2011

4.16

1.4M+ ratings

🏢 Tech Titans 💻 Silicon Valley History 🔄 Corporate Turnarounds

Steve Jobs

by Patricia Lakin • 2011

Before the iPhone, Jobs took a calligraphy class. That strange detour explains everything.

3.85

384

🚀 Tech Entrepreneurship 🎨 Product Design 💻 Silicon Valley

Steve Jobs 95%

Before the iPhone, Jobs took a calligraphy class. That strange detour explains everything.

by Patricia Lakin 2011

3.85

384 ratings

🚀 Tech Entrepreneurship 🎨 Product Design 💻 Silicon Valley

The Innovators

by Walter Isaacson • 2011

The digital revolution wasn't born in garages but in teams of hackers, engineers, and visionaries.

4.12

40k+

🖥️ Computer History 🤝 Collaborative Innovation 🏞️ Silicon Valley Origins

The Innovators 95%

The digital revolution wasn't born in garages but in teams of hackers, engineers, and visionaries.

by Walter Isaacson 2011

4.12

40k+ ratings

🖥️ Computer History 🤝 Collaborative Innovation 🏞️ Silicon Valley Origins

iCon

by Jeffrey S. Young • 2005

Fired at thirty from Apple. Twelve years later, he returned to rescue it.

4.06

11k+

🚀 Startup Stories 🔄 Corporate Turnarounds 🎨 Design Thinking

iCon 95%

Fired at thirty from Apple. Twelve years later, he returned to rescue it.

by Jeffrey S. Young 2005

4.06

11k+ ratings

🚀 Startup Stories 🔄 Corporate Turnarounds 🎨 Design Thinking

Softwar

by Matthew Symonds • 2003

Oracle nearly died in 1990. Its founder's response: bet the company on an all-in internet gamble.

3.78

499

💾 Tech Industry History 🔄 Company Turnarounds 🚀 Software Entrepreneurship

Softwar 95%

Oracle nearly died in 1990. Its founder's response: bet the company on an all-in internet gamble.

by Matthew Symonds 2003

3.78

499 ratings

💾 Tech Industry History 🔄 Company Turnarounds 🚀 Software Entrepreneurship

The Second Coming of Steve Jobs

by Alan Deutschman • 2000

Fired at thirty, Jobs failed a decade before returning to remake the company that rejected him.

3.95

3k+

🔄 Tech Turnarounds 🌉 Silicon Valley 🎭 Second Acts

The Second Coming of Steve Jobs 95%

Fired at thirty, Jobs failed a decade before returning to remake the company that rejected him.

by Alan Deutschman 2000

3.95

3k+ ratings

🔄 Tech Turnarounds 🌉 Silicon Valley 🎭 Second Acts

Hard Drive

by James Wallace • 1992

The $50,000 operating system Gates bought and resold to IBM: the deal that built Microsoft.

4.12

2k+

🖥️ Pc Revolution 📋 Corporate Biography 🚀 Tech Entrepreneurship

Hard Drive 95%

The $50,000 operating system Gates bought and resold to IBM: the deal that built Microsoft.

by James Wallace 1992

4.12

2k+ ratings

🖥️ Pc Revolution 📋 Corporate Biography 🚀 Tech Entrepreneurship

Inside Steve's Brain

by Leander Kahney • 2008

How ruthless focus, elite teams, and total control built the world's most admired company.

3.95

5k+

🍎 Apple History 💻 Tech Leadership 🎨 Design-Led Business

Inside Steve's Brain 95%

How ruthless focus, elite teams, and total control built the world's most admired company.

by Leander Kahney 2008

3.95

5k+ ratings

🍎 Apple History 💻 Tech Leadership 🎨 Design-Led Business

The Difference Between God and Larry Ellison*

by Mike Wilson • 1997

Larry Ellison sold databases. His real product was the legend of Larry Ellison.

3.93

436

🖥️ Silicon Valley History 💼 Tech Mogul Biographies 🥊 Corporate Rivalries

The Difference Between God and Larry Ellison* Summary

The Difference Between God and Larry Ellison* 95%

Larry Ellison sold databases. His real product was the legend of Larry Ellison.

by Mike Wilson 1997

3.93

436 ratings

🖥️ Silicon Valley History 💼 Tech Mogul Biographies 🥊 Corporate Rivalries

Troublemakers

by Leslie Berlin • 2017

The seven years when a California peninsula birthed personal computing, biotech, and video games.

4.09

769

🌉 Silicon Valley 🖥️ Personal Computing 💰 Venture Capital

Troublemakers 95%

The seven years when a California peninsula birthed personal computing, biotech, and video games.

by Leslie Berlin 2017

4.09

769 ratings

🌉 Silicon Valley 🖥️ Personal Computing 💰 Venture Capital

Valley of Genius

by Adam Fisher • 2018

A stolen Xerox demo, hot-tubbing engineers, and the real conversations that built the Valley.

4.08

1k+

🌉 Silicon Valley 📱 Tech History 🎙️ Oral History

Valley of Genius 94%

A stolen Xerox demo, hot-tubbing engineers, and the real conversations that built the Valley.

by Adam Fisher 2018

4.08

1k+ ratings

🌉 Silicon Valley 📱 Tech History 🎙️ Oral History

In the Plex

by Steven Levy • 2011

Inside Google: how two PhD students turned a search engine into the operating system of modern life.

3.84

30k+

🏢 Corporate History 🌐 Internet History ⚙️ Engineering Culture

In the Plex 94%

Inside Google: how two PhD students turned a search engine into the operating system of modern life.

by Steven Levy 2011

3.84

30k+ ratings

🏢 Corporate History 🌐 Internet History ⚙️ Engineering Culture

ColdFusion Presents

by Dagogo Altraide • 2019

From steam to AI: the chain of breakthroughs that built the modern world, every link essential.

4.17

780

🏭 History Of Technology 🔬 History Of Science 💡 History Of Innovation

ColdFusion Presents 94%

From steam to AI: the chain of breakthroughs that built the modern world, every link essential.

by Dagogo Altraide 2019

4.17

780 ratings

🏭 History Of Technology 🔬 History Of Science 💡 History Of Innovation

Just for Fun

by Linus Torvalds • 2001

A Finnish student created an operating system in his bedroom, then watched it swallow the world.

3.96

5k+

🐧 Open Source 💻 Software Development 📜 Technology History

Just for Fun 94%

A Finnish student created an operating system in his bedroom, then watched it swallow the world.

by Linus Torvalds 2001

3.96

5k+ ratings

🐧 Open Source 💻 Software Development 📜 Technology History

Exploding the Phone

by Phil Lapsley • 2013

The phone system had a hidden language. The teenagers who mastered it invented the modern hacker.

4.20

2k+

📞 Phone Phreaking 📡 Telecom History 💾 Early Hacking

Exploding the Phone 94%

The phone system had a hidden language. The teenagers who mastered it invented the modern hacker.

by Phil Lapsley 2013

4.20

2k+ ratings

📞 Phone Phreaking 📡 Telecom History 💾 Early Hacking

Tim Cook

by Leander Kahney • 2019

They said Apple peaked with Jobs. Cook's bet on operations, ethics, and privacy tripled its value.

3.70

3k+

🍎 Apple History 💻 Tech Leadership ❤️ Values-Driven Leadership

Tim Cook 94%

They said Apple peaked with Jobs. Cook's bet on operations, ethics, and privacy tripled its value.

by Leander Kahney 2019

3.70

3k+ ratings

🍎 Apple History 💻 Tech Leadership ❤️ Values-Driven Leadership

Google It

by Anna Crowley Redding • 2018

Two Stanford students, a garage, and an algorithm that ranked the entire web by importance.

4.00

617

🏢 Tech Company History 🌉 Silicon Valley Startups 🌐 Internet History

Google It 94%

Two Stanford students, a garage, and an algorithm that ranked the entire web by importance.

by Anna Crowley Redding 2018

4.00

617 ratings

🏢 Tech Company History 🌉 Silicon Valley Startups 🌐 Internet History

The Intel Trinity

by Michael S. Malone • 2014

Intel was built by three founders who rarely got along. Their friction shaped the modern world.

4.20

831

🌉 Silicon Valley History 💾 Semiconductor Industry 🏢 Corporate Histories

The Intel Trinity 94%

Intel was built by three founders who rarely got along. Their friction shaped the modern world.

by Michael S. Malone 2014

4.20

831 ratings

🌉 Silicon Valley History 💾 Semiconductor Industry 🏢 Corporate Histories

The Road Ahead

by Bill Gates • 1995

In 1995, Bill Gates mapped the digital future: commerce, education, and homes that recognize you.

3.74

4k+

🚀 Tech Futurism 🌐 Early Internet Predictions 🖥️ Personal Computing History

The Road Ahead 94%

In 1995, Bill Gates mapped the digital future: commerce, education, and homes that recognize you.

by Bill Gates 1995

3.74

4k+ ratings

🚀 Tech Futurism 🌐 Early Internet Predictions 🖥️ Personal Computing History

How the Internet Happened

by Brian McCullough • 2018

The Internet was not inevitable: a handful of companies built it in a frantic twenty-year race.

4.27

2k+

🖥️ Internet History 💸 Dot-Com Bubble 🔧 Tech History

How the Internet Happened 94%

The Internet was not inevitable: a handful of companies built it in a frantic twenty-year race.

by Brian McCullough 2018

4.27

2k+ ratings

🖥️ Internet History 💸 Dot-Com Bubble 🔧 Tech History

Cult of the Dead Cow

by Joseph Menn • 2019

From BBS pranks to Pentagon briefings: how a hacker collective wrote the playbook for cyberdefense.

3.75

2k+

💻 Hacker Culture ✊ Hacktivism 🛡️ Ethical Hacking

Cult of the Dead Cow 94%

From BBS pranks to Pentagon briefings: how a hacker collective wrote the playbook for cyberdefense.

by Joseph Menn 2019

3.75

2k+ ratings

💻 Hacker Culture ✊ Hacktivism 🛡️ Ethical Hacking

Hatching Twitter

by Nick Bilton • 2013

Four friends created Twitter. Then they systematically destroyed each other.

4.04

19k+

🚀 Tech Startups 🌉 Silicon Valley 📱 Social Media

Hatching Twitter 94%

Four friends created Twitter. Then they systematically destroyed each other.

by Nick Bilton 2013

4.04

19k+ ratings

🚀 Tech Startups 🌉 Silicon Valley 📱 Social Media

Without Their Permission

by Alexis Ohanian • 2013

A college project became a top-ten site. Why that path is open to everyone.

3.70

2k+

🚀 Tech Startups 🌐 Internet Culture 📖 Founder Memoir

Without Their Permission 93%

A college project became a top-ten site. Why that path is open to everyone.

by Alexis Ohanian 2013

3.70

2k+ ratings

🚀 Tech Startups 🌐 Internet Culture 📖 Founder Memoir

Compare Features	Free	Pro
📖 Read Summaries Read unlimited summaries. Free users get 3 per month
🎧 Listen to Summaries Listen to unlimited summaries in 40 languages	—
❤️ Unlimited Bookmarks Free users are limited to 4	—
📜 Unlimited History Free users are limited to 4	—
📥 Unlimited Downloads Free users are limited to 1	—

People love SoBrief

Join our global community of 600,000+ readers

★★★★★

This site is a total game-changer. I've been flying through book summaries like never before. Highly, highly recommend.

— Dave G

Worth my money and time, and really well made. I've never seen this quality of summaries on other websites. Very helpful!

— Em

Highly recommended!! Fantastic service. Perfect for those that want a little more than a teaser but not all the intricate details of a full audio book.

— Greg M