| Extra Life: Coming of Age in Cyberspace Contributor(s): Bennahum, David (Author) |
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ISBN: 0465012361 ISBN-13: 9780465012367 Publisher: Basic Books OUR PRICE: $19.79 Product Type: Paperback Published: October 1999 Annotation: In this dazzling personal account, David Bennahum shows how computer games, digital pranks and jerry-rigged programs came to inspire legions of boys in the early 80s, shaping them, just as TV and rock 'n' roll defined earlier generations. Packed with little-known computer lore and set against the background of the emerging information age, Extra Life is nothing less than a grand digital adventure. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Computers | History - Political Science |
| Dewey: 303.483 |
| LCCN: 98-39251 |
| Lexile Measure: 1050 |
| Physical Information: 0.63" H x 4.99" W x 8.03" (0.61 lbs) 256 pages |
| Themes: - Chronological Period - 1980's |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Today's digital culture traces its roots to the 1980s, when the first computer generation came of age. These original techno-kids grew up with home-brew programs, secret computer access codes, and arcades where dedicated video gamers fought to extend their play by earning "extra life." In that era of gleeful discovery, driven by a sense of adventure and a surge of power, kids found a world they could master, one few grownups could understand.In this fast-paced, real-life tale set in the bedrooms, computer rooms, and video arcades of the '80s, popular media chronicler David S. Bennahum takes readers back to his initiation into this electronic universe, to his discovery of PONG at age five. We follow him from video game addiction--his Bar Mitzvah gift was an Atari 800 with 48K of RAM--to his ascent to master programmer with the coveted title of "Super User" in his high school's computer room. Bennahum reflects on how computers empowered him and his friends to create a world of their own.We see how their geekiness, grounded in roleplaying, iterative thinking, and systems analysis led to a productive, social existence--the "extra life" they found on the other side of the screen. Hilarious, poignant, and packed with little-known computer lore, Extra Life is a grand digital adventure set against the background of the emerging information age. |