The Innovators by Walter Isaacson; review by Amogh Joshi

 The Innovators by Walter Isaacson

The Innovators by Walter Isaacson is a novel dedicated to the history of computing, and, as

implied by the title, the story of the innovators who drove the revolution which propelled us

into the Information Age. It provides an in-depth analysis of the lives and work of major

figures in computing, from Ada Lovelace, considered to have written the first ever computer

program, through the development of technologies such as the microchip and transistor,

and up until the most recent gargantuan developments, the World Wide Web and Google,

and peers at not only the technological ideas of these men and women, but the story of

their lives which influenced them.

The novel progresses chronologically, starting firmly in the age of Ada Lovelace and Charles

Babbage, considered to be some of the original pioneers of modern computing. I found the

flow of the novel to be very interesting, since it simultaneously was a pure history novel

describing innovation, and at the same time an exploration of the lives and adventures of

those behind the innovations. Each of the “characters” in the novel had their own diverse

backgrounds and Isaacson makes no attempt to try and paint each one of them as

examples of perfect engineers, instead acknowledging their brilliance while not shying away

from discussing their personality and influence, both positive and negative.

For these reasons, the novel is both alluring to one who finds himself interested in

technology, but also one who may find herself not particularly invested in the subject, as it

isn’t designed as a computing-centered novel. I always make a point to note whenever a

book utilizes pictures well, as even though it’s a seemingly small detail, Isaacson scatters

some pictures throughout an otherwise wordy novel, painting a physical picture of the

innovators we are reading about and the machines they constructed.

Arguably, the novel is seemingly outdated, considering that it comes to a near-abrupt halt

following a brief discussion of modern social media outlets, for instance, somewhat

foregoing or entirely skipping over concepts that are now commonplace, from artificial

intelligence to cryptocurrency. However, any book which aims to cover a period in history is,

in essence, doomed to be outdated from the moment of its publication. In this regard, The

Innovators does a fantastic job in covering a brief but very concise history of computing and

the advent of the digital revolution, exploring the geniuses of the past through multiple

lenses while keeping a strong focus on their innovations and how they have and continue to

influence our world.