Even if you’ve read all the similar books like The Innovators: , Hackers, Don’t Be Evil, and The Contrarian, this is great. O’Mara details not just the people and brains, but the politics and culture of Silicon Valley and the broader U.S. tech industry from the 1960s to late 2010s.

She isn’t a sycophant or part of the culture, and the book is better for it. She doesn’t fully buy into the Great Man view – she examines government policy, tax structure and incentives and how they affected the industry and the lucky geniuses who were in the right place at the right time. That’s not to say she diminishes them, but she tells a much more broad story than many of the hagiographers (and critics) that have covered this ground before. Reagan, Clinton and Gore get about the same word count as Steve Jobs.

She profiles several key women in the industry and dives into how sexism and racism factored into the industry, and highlights a few figures along the way that should be better-known.

It’s an excellent, readable history of the tech industry, but also comes from an unusual angle that will appeal to politics and history junkies as well.