Summary of Michael S. Malone's The Big Score

By IRB Media

Get the Summary of Michael S. Malone's The Big Score in 20 minutes. Please note: This is a summary & not the original book. Original book introduction: The only contemporary history of the birth of Silicon Valley—from the reporter who had a ringside seat to it allOver the past five decades, the tech industry has grown into one of the most important sectors of the global economy, and Silicon Valley--replete with sprawling office parks, sky-high rents, and countless self-made millionaires--is home to many of its key players. But the origins of Silicon Valley and the tech sector are much humbler. At a time when tech companies’ influence continues to grow, The Big Score chronicles how they began.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.A decades-long story with individual sacrifice, ingenuity, and big money at its core, The Big Score recounts the history of today's dominant sector through its upstart beginnings.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Dec 9, 2021
• ISBN: 9781669343103

IRB Media

With IRB books, you can get the key takeaways and analysis of a book in 15 minutes. We read every chapter, identify the key takeaways and analyze them for your convenience.

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Insights on Michael S. Malone's The Big Score

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 7

Insights from Chapter 8

Insights from Chapter 9

Insights from Chapter 10

Insights from Chapter 11

Insights from Chapter 12

Insights from Chapter 13

Insights from Chapter 14

Insights from Chapter 15

Insights from Chapter 16

Insights from Chapter 17

Insights from Chapter 18

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The city of Sunnyvale was home to Silicon Valley, and was known as the capital of the New Technological Society. However, the town’s residents were forced to watch as the orchards where they once worked were replaced with industrial parks.

#2

The author met a man named Tim who worked for a semiconductor company in Silicon Valley and drank with the same group of people every Friday. One of the people in the group was a man named the Martini Man, who claimed that the biggest scams in Silicon Valley were industrial espionage and selling samples rather than returning them to the company.

#3

The author worked at a semiconductor company where he was harassed by his boss, who tried to force him to take a performance-enhancing drug.

#4

The author worked at a Silicon Valley chip factory from the age of 18 until he was fired, at which point he began using drugs regularly. The author began working overtime and smoking meth to stay awake. His weight loss was noticed, and he was ultimately fired.

#5

Silicon Valley is synonymous with the Electronics Revolution, the constant technological advancement that has forever changed human society.

#6

Silicon Valley is an area in California where many technological companies are based. It is known for its high concentration of millionaires, and its entrepreneurs, who almost never fail, have created a new way of life that many people dream of.

#7

Silicon Valley is a paradise for inventors that is also a paradise for companies that utilize those inventions. It has no evil intentions, but it is a predatory paradise because it steals the life force of its inhabitants.

#8

To understand the birth of a new company and its first steps, one must visit the Silicon Valley. It is a region full of contrasting narratives.

Insights from Chapter 2

#1

The Santa Clara Valley in California was originally used for farming. However, as time went on, the area became more and more geared towards technology. The area was known as the New Athens, thanks to its many technological companies.

#2

The Valley’s first electronics company, McCarty Wireless Telephone Company, was founded by 14-year-old Francis McCarty in 1902. It was not until 1908, when Elwell was asked to help the company, that the Valley’s first electronics company was founded.

#3

The Federal Telegraph Company was founded in Palo Alto in 1909 by Danish immigrant Valdemar Poulsen, who had invented the first practical wireless telephone the previous year. De Forest, one of the founders, was also arrested for fraud that same year. De Forest spent his time tinkering with the audion, eventually creating the first electronic amplifier.

#4

The first radio sets were sold in the United States in 1913. The radio was a success, and so was the company that produced it, Federal Telegraph.

#5

The history of the radio is a classic example of how a small group of people can have a large impact on the world. It was invented by a few individuals in the 1890s, but it wasn’t until the 1920s that the radio started to become mainstream.