Extra Life: Coming of Age in Cyberspace

Rating:
Summary: A touching story about growing up in the Computer Age
Review: David Bennahum's "Extra Life" is one of the most touching, gripping, and interesting books I've read in a long time. The book is a personal account of the authors youth, his early descent into the world of drugs and alcohol, and how discovering the fascinating world of computers brought him out and changed his life forever. It was a powerful moment when the meaning of the book's title hit me.. like in video games, David was granted an "Extra Life", a chance to pull himself up by the bootstraps. Computers were the answer.

Perhaps I enjoyed this book so much because many of David's experiences hit very close to home -- while I was never did drugs or drank alcohol, and I am a bit younger than him (Pac Man instead of Pong), I found myself relating closely to Bennahum's memoirs. The similarities between us are scary, from our first computers (Atari 800), to our interviews with Microsoft later in life. "Extra Life" is the first book I've read that has hit the spirit of the computer programmer straight on the head. Finally, someone who shared the same passion for programming that I have! Bennahum expresses this passion eloquently.

"Extra Life" is a fascinating story, most likely the first of many personal experiences about growing up in the computer age we'll see in the future. After reading David's story, I had the strange urge to share my similar experiences. Personally, I can't wait to give this book to my parents to read, and I urge those parents who are curious -- and maybe a bit concerned -- about the hypnotic attachment their kids have with the computer to pick up a copy of "Extra Life" and read what that attachment is all about.

Cheers to David S. Bennahum on his first book. I can't wait for his next.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing - I couldn't relate to his story
Review: His book brought back many memories. The story could very nearly be my own. I thought it was extremely insightful. I should have paid more attention to the future possibilities instead of focusing on the current uses at the time.

Rating:
Summary: A walk down 64k memory lane
Review: I find it annoying that someone gave this book 2 stars because he couldn't relate to the author. How is that is standard for whether a book is good or not? If that's how we judge books, then Star Wars and Lord of the Rings suck!

Anyways, this book is excellent. I was too young to notice the computer age in the 80s, but reading this book is as close as I'll ever get. It makes me appreciate where we were in technology and kindof wish that things were still as simple and straigtforward. But it also makes me marvel at where we're going as well. Thanks David.

Rating:
Summary: My Diary
Review: I thought this book was great.

Although, I grew up in Orange County (Southern Cal)
and not NYC like the author, I thought I was ready
my own diary.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent book for those who appreciate the technology
Review: I throughly enjoyed this book, I am older than David but felt the same fascination the first time I used a Dragon 32K. I never mastered programming to the same degree but understand his enchantment. The book's underlying theme is understanding the interaction between the human and the computer not just the "human computer interface". The parallel between the PDP computer and the Internet should be compulsory reading for those (including my kids) who believe that the Internet just happened. I strongly recommend this book both for its literary merits and its insights into our recent history.

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant!
Review: I was staying at a friend's house, and he had a copy of Extra Life. As I grew up with computers, and have an interest in anything having to do with them, I started flipping through the book, thinking it might be interesting. Well! I must say that I was hooked within the first two pages! Bennahum's book is an amazingly insightful telling of a story that I had never really thought about before. Extra Life is about the moment that personal computers came into our lives (I grew up with an Apple II), and the way that they changed both the world and culture, written through the eyes of Bennahum as a kid and teenager.

His writing style is clean and descriptive and can be poetic as well. It really is a page-turner, and it brought back so many memories of learning how to program for the first time, playing video games, and the whole 8-bit "revolution" of the late 70s and early 80s.

So I came on the site to buy a copy for my cousin, who also grew up with computers. I also noticed some of the reviews and while I agree with most of them, I really think the reviewer who complained that Bennahum's book wasn't as interesting as Chuck Yeager's made a silly comparison. Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier-- yeah he's famous-- Bennahum isn't famous, and his story isn't a "famous" story. It's a story like mine, and like many other peope who grew up with computers as kids. And that is exactly what is so great about it! He takes something that we now take for granted, and shows the real meaning behind it. To compare his book to Chuck Yeager's is to compare apples with oranges: it doesn't mean anything.

I loved this book! And I can recommend it as being worth every one of the five stars I gave it.

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant!
Review: I was staying at a friend's house, and he had a copy of Extra Life. As I grew up with computers, and have an interest in anything having to do with them, I started flipping through the book, thinking it might be interesting. Well! I must say that I was hooked within the first two pages! Bennahum's book is an amazingly insightful telling of a story that I had never really thought about before. Extra Life is about the moment that personal computers came into our lives (I grew up with an Apple II), and the way that they changed both the world and culture, written through the eyes of Bennahum as a kid and teenager.

His writing style is clean and descriptive and can be poetic as well. It really is a page-turner, and it brought back so many memories of learning how to program for the first time, playing video games, and the whole 8-bit "revolution" of the late 70s and early 80s.

So I came on the site to buy a copy for my cousin, who also grew up with computers. I also noticed some of the reviews and while I agree with most of them, I really think the reviewer who complained that Bennahum's book wasn't as interesting as Chuck Yeager's made a silly comparison. Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier-- yeah he's famous-- Bennahum isn't famous, and his story isn't a "famous" story. It's a story like mine, and like many other peope who grew up with computers as kids. And that is exactly what is so great about it! He takes something that we now take for granted, and shows the real meaning behind it. To compare his book to Chuck Yeager's is to compare apples with oranges: it doesn't mean anything.

I loved this book! And I can recommend it as being worth every one of the five stars I gave it.

Rating:
Summary: Just because it happened to you does not make it interesting
Review: The above quote is from the movie Search and Destroy (1995), from the character of Dr. Waxling.

When reading a book there are usually three things that affect how well you enjoy the book: How well you like the writing, how well you like the topic, and how well you like the author. Unfortunately I am reading Chuck Yeagers autobiography side by side with this book, and it's no contest. David Bennahum has not really accomplished anything special. He was a spectator to the beginnings of the computer age as so many of us twenty-somethings were. So he went to a school with computers. Every school had them back then. Even small towns in Northern Canada had computers in their classrooms. If I want to read about major events, such as the 1972 world hockey victory of USA over Soviets, the book shouldn't be about the spectators.

By comparison, Chuck Yeager has done a lot in his life, hence he wrote a book. He started as a dirt poor Virginian farm kid. He and his brother accidently shot and killed their sister with a shotgun when they were just little kids. Chuck went off to war and became an ace. He was the first man to fly faster than sound. He crashed a supersonic jet and got himself horribly burned. He started with little and made himself a national hero.

Another example of a "Catcher in the Rye" type of coming of age story is Rocketboys, also about poor Virginians in a coal town who, of all things, make rockets that fly incredible heights. That author, Homer Hickman, went on to work for NASA.

So what did David Bennahum do? Well, he grew up wealthy, his father gave him his computer, his step-father gave him a plush job when he was 15, he went to the best schools, he got into Harvard. Sorry but that does not make for a great story. I know it isn't his fault for being rich, but it is his fault for writing a self indulgent book about himself. Perhaps sensing the content was a little weak, he also over-writes things at times, such as when he does experimental stuff like iterweaving a game of Zork with his narriative ala the Watchmen.

Let's face it, people aren't reading this to learn about the author, they are reading to get nostalgiac. On that level it works sometimes. However, most readers will identify more with early 8-bit computers such as the Atari, Commodore and Tandy line of home computers. Atari is the computer the author owned, but we are treated to scarecely a few pages on this before apparently the author packed it up into storage and concentrated on the PDP-12. People in their 20's and early 30's do not identify with the PDP-12. And there have been far better books dealing with PDP-12 nostalgia (Hackers by Steven Levy, for example).

A good portion of the latter half of the book talks about him completing his school assignments in computer class. Yes, his assignments, in detail, even showing code snippets in PASCAL. I struggled gamely to read through those sections without falling asleep, not one of the easier things I've done in my life. I'd rather read someones exploits about planting carrots in the garden. High school computer class assignments are not the thing to turn into a full length book.

The big crescendo for the story seems to be when he becomes a super user in his school computer room along with a friend. The friend steals some passwords in their classroom and confides in the author. What does he do? He tells the teacher. Nice friend. The one he tattled on might also have been super user, but the author decided it was best to eliminate him so he could become super user. Yes, ruin someones access to the computer room and sour them on computers so you can become... super user. The problem is becoming super user means something to the author, but it just doesn't mean anything to anyone reading it. It's like someone writing a book where they become pitcher in little league in elementary school.

It picks up a bit after the PDP-12 stuff. One interesting scene has him spying on girl across the way, but that is about it. He makes a few good observations, such as how the Mac was a bit of a dissapointment to hardcore 8-bit computer users, and how much of the Mac mystique is pure hype from Apple. Overall, however, a very boring read.

Rating:
Summary: My Generation
Review: This book immediately brought me back to the day when my father brought home a Commodore 64 for our family. I was back in our basement hacking BASIC code all over again. Great read.