The Big Score – Michael S. Malone

The only contemporary history of the birth of Silicon Valley―from the reporter who had a ringside seat to it all

One of the first reporters on the tech industry beat at the San Jose Mercury-News, Michael S. Malone recounts the feverish efforts of young technologists and entrepreneurs to build something that would change the world—and score them a big payday. Starting with the birth of Hewlett-Packard in the 1930s, Malone illustrates how decades of technological innovation laid the foundation for the meteoric rise of the Valley in the 1970s. Drawing on exclusive, unvarnished interviews, Malone punctuates this history with incisive profiles of tech’s early luminaries—including Nobelist William Shockley and Apple's Steve Jobs—when they were struggling entrepreneurs working 18-hour days in their garages. And he plunges us into the darker side of the Valley, where espionage, drugs, hellish working conditions, and shocking betrayals shaped the paths for winners and losers in a booming industry.

"Mike Malone’s epic depiction of Silicon Valley, The Big Score, was a calling card for me and countless other young entrepreneurs with a background in tech. Malone’s stories captured the essence of Valley culture and the many outsized personalities who helped create this mecca of tech. Years later, this book is still relevant and offers insights into the Valley and its ongoing place in the world." (Jeff Skoll, first president of eBay)