Computing: A Business History

Name: Computing: A Business History
Availability: InStock
Rating: 4 (22 reviews)
Author: Lars Nielsen

How Geeks, Greed, and Genius Built Silicon Valley

Written byLars Nielsen

Narrated bySmokey Rivers

Length3h57m

Release dateJuly 17, 2013

GenreComputers & Technology, History & Culture, History

LanguageEnglish

★★★★★ 4.0 (22 ratings)

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Quick Facts

Author	Lars Nielsen
Narrator	Smokey Rivers
Runtime	3h57m
Published	July 17, 2013
Rating	★★★★★ 4.0 / 5 (22 ratings)
Categories	Computers & Technology, History & Culture, History, Money & Finance, E-Commerce, Economics
Format	Audiobook (Digital)
Platform	Audible

About This Audiobook

This isn’t another dry chronicle of Moore’s Law or hagiography of Steve Jobs. *Computing: A Business History* cracks open the messy, human story behind the machines—where backroom deals, ego clashes, and sheer luck often mattered more than technical brilliance. Lars Nielsen, a systems developer who’s lived through multiple tech booms, serves up a warts-and-all tour of computing’s commercial evolution, from punch-card monopolies to the cutthroat birth of the PC. What makes this audiobook sing is its focus on the *business* of innovation: the patent wars, the failed startups, and the accidental empires that shaped today’s tech oligarchy.

Smokey Rivers’ narration is the perfect match—his gravelly, no-nonsense delivery feels like a grizzled engineer swapping war stories over coffee, not a polished corporate history. The pacing is tight (under four hours), with Nielsen’s sharp asides and Rivers’ wry timing turning what could be a dense topic into something closer to a tech *Hardcore History*. If you’ve ever wondered why IBM dominated then faltered, or how a bunch of radio hobbyists accidentally invented the future, this is the audiobook that connects the dots without the Silicon Valley mythmaking.

Tags: tech industry deep diveSilicon Valley unfilteredbusiness history with attitudenarrated like a podcastanti-hagiography of computingshort but sharp tech audiobooks

Why Listen to Computing: A Business History?

Expert narration by Smokey Rivers brings every character and scene to life across 3h57m of immersive audio.
Highly rated at 4.0 stars by 22 listeners.
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Editor's Review ★★★★★

AudioBook Atlas

I’ll admit: I approached *Computing: A Business History* skeptical it could say anything fresh about tech’s origin story. But Nielsen’s focus on the *business* side—not just the code—makes this a standout. The chapter on how Xerox PARC’s brilliance got outmaneuvered by Apple’s hustle is worth the price alone, delivered with Rivers’ perfect mix of exasperation and dark humor. His narration elevates the material; he doesn’t just read the footnotes on antitrust cases, he *scoffs* at them, making you feel the absurdity of tech’s boom-bust cycles. That said, the audiobook isn’t perfect. The jump from mainframes to microchips feels rushed—Nielsen glosses over the cultural shift of computing leaving the lab, which is a missed opportunity. And while Rivers’ folksy style works for most of the book, his pacing stumbles during the denser financial sections (the chapter on Compaq’s rise could use a breath or two). Still, the tradeoffs are worth it. This is the rare tech history that treats its subjects as flawed humans, not demigods, and the audio production leans into that grit. If you’re tired of tech lore that ignores the backstabbing and bankruptcy, this is your antidote—just don’t expect a hagiography.

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Computing: A Business History by Lars Nielsen is an immersive listening experience. Performed by Smokey Rivers with a runtime of 3h57m, you can start with a free trial that you can cancel at any time. The audiobook remains yours forever, even if you end the trial.