Extra Life: Coming Of Age In Cyberspace
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.48 (683 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0465012353 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 256 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2013-05-29 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
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. 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. 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. Today’s digital culture traces its roots to the 1980s, when the first computer generation came of age. Hilarious, poignant, and packed with little-known computer lore, Extr
"Interesting, but empty" according to A Customer. It's an easy read, but I mostly found it interesting because there were many similarities to my own youth and computer education. The problem with this book is that there really isn't a message or a point. It's entertaining as narrative, but it's all empty calories.. "A touching story about growing up in the Computer Age" according to A Customer. 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 cha. "Ten year difference, but my life in print" according to Amazon Customer. I didn't know what to expect when I started this book; especially with the opening chapters about France, I almost didn't become fully immersed. But I stuck in, and was tremendously rewarded for my patience. Even though I am ten years younger than the author, most of the same experiences reminded me of why I was a computer nerd through middle and high school and why the computing world used to be a much more interesting space, at least for the geeks ra
Bennahum writes a rich account of what it was like to be among the first to grow up with computers as an important part of daily life, where the critical parts of the most coveted toys are electronic rather than mechanical. However enthusiastic he gets about his electronic extra life, he doesn't overlook the dark side of experience. What lends Extra Life such poignancy is that it ranges far beyond mere push-buttons and keyboards to incorporate the new electronic world into the larger life of a boy growing up in New York. If Bennahum sometimes seems overly self-congratulatory for being part of his generation, that's easily forgiven as he shares his childlike wonder in the electronic new world that grew up alongside him. B