To most people, Walter Isaacson is known for his dedicated book, “Steve Jobs.” Many, including The New York Times and The Guardian, have praised for his concise and coherent depiction of a superbly lived life. However, his most recent piece, “the Innovators,” is less known, but it deserves to be on the same level as his renowned masterpiece; the book praises collaborative endeavors of the technology entrepreneurs.

On the book’s cover, “the Innovators” states that it is about “how a group of hackers, geniuses, and geeks created the digital revolution.” Inside the book, however, Walter Isaacson contains more than just the history of the digital revolution. The masterpiece comprises the forgotten brilliance the technology industry has shown for the past century and how those brilliancies changed our lives 180 degrees. The compulsive written piece shows not only the bright future but also the author’s capability to translate the technical jargon into a grand masterpiece which more people can comprehend and acknowledge the hard works of the hackers and geeks.

“The Innovators” begins in the 1830s with its first character, Ada Lovelace, who envisioned the upcoming industrial revolutions and its possible implications throughout the society. In the first chapter, Isaacson takes a rather unprecedented step: praising the forgotten figures who have not been celebrated after their endeavors. Even though it was a gentle apprehension towards the female contributors, Isaacson’s praises more seem like the truth of how it was impossible to mention all of them since the revolution was more of a collaborative work than an individual one. Regardless, the author continues his piece and lets Lovelace become an essential symbol of hope and motivation, revealing part of Isaacson’s personal prospect of future technologies. 

The story’s main dish starts when Vannevar Bush and John Mauchly are introduced. They are one of the best engineers in the early 20th century and led the digital revolution to take its first step. With their endeavor came the world’s first true computer Eniac, a 27-ton machine that is systemically weaker than our daily cellphones. From there on, the plot continues with characters such as John Atanasoff and William Shockley, whose endeavor became a substantial benefit to the digital revolution; they guided the military agencies to create different technological machines that prepared for possible missile attacks from the Soviet and the possible missile attacks the US might utilize. Throughout these chapters, Isaacson concedes that the creations were not the well-purposed machines but eventually were huge benefactors and accelerators to the development of the digital revolution. 

As the book enters the late 20th century, the more prominent figures appear. Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and Tim Berners-Lee decorate few chapters, and the sections explain the change in the technology industry as more innovations became commercial: the different development strategies, patent issues, and internet are mentioned as the book reaches the end. Many companies such as Twitter, Wikipedia, and IBM are shown with their evolution to becoming the big names.

Walter Isaacson’s “The Innovators” is a fascinating and enthralling piece which The Sunday Times quoted as “best possible guide to this storm.” The book summarizes the complicated but intriguing history of the digital revolution and helps the public to gain a more detailed knowledge. However, there are setbacks. The history of the digital revolution is just impossible to fit in 500 pages book. It is far more complex and thus needs specific guidance through it. Many essential aspects of the relationship between technology and economy are missing (for example is the digital currency Bitcoin), and most importantly, the book only concentrates on the American continent. On the Fortune 500 list are international companies from different continents, selling and producing various goods and services related to the digital revolution. It is undoubtedly a little disappointment to see such a vacancy. However, “The Innovators” still present a high-quality review of the digital revolution. Walter Isaacson’s depiction of the general trends and patterns are accurate and detailed. It is a summary and translation of technology jargons which average consumers can benefit on. Isaacson’s affection for the heroic geeks can be interpreted a dozen times and gives a gentle smile on the readers’ face. Thus, “the Innovators” can be seen as a more of a reminder that such beautiful history has led to such sublime society and that we, the public, should at least show a gentle affection and acknowledgment to the past “group of hackers, geniuses, and geeks” who created the digital revolution.