2nd Annotated Bibliography

Gibson 1

Christopher Gibson

Mrs. Knapp

English 1A

April 30, 2012

Then and Now: The Developmental Impacts

of Silicon Valley

McCraw, Thomas K. American Business, 1920-2000: How It Worked. Wheeling, IL: Harlan Davidson,

          2000. Print.

    Geared for both historical insight and American business model applications this book provides information on the Governments investment on R&D (Research and Development) during the Cold War. The Author shows the relevance of R&D and the Government’s willingness to generously fund high-tech industries and fundamental research in order to stay ahead of the Soviet Union’s advancements. Further explanations are given in detail about how much the government invested in research through Private Companies and upper-tier Universities where both of which are directly linked to the Silicon Valley. The Author is the Isidor Straus Professor of Business History at the Harvard Business School and has involvements in several articles, chapters, reviews, and of course books since 1971.

    The book is useful for thorough insight on how businesses work and especially lays a proper foundation that explains the Silicon Valley’s massive technological development since the 1950’s. This book also contains additional detail that I am sure I have yet to discover as well.

Cheek, Martin. Silicon Valley. Emeryville, CA: Moon, 2002. Print.

    Primarily suited for travelers/tourists who want a more in-depth understanding about the Silicon Valley, this book provides prideful detail of what the Valley was and has become. The Author displays key dates of which the Governments invested in research done by Stanford University and non-profit based labs located in Menlo Park. The Author also explains how New York based business giant IBM was one of the first Companies that grew fond of the Silicon Valley and its electronics developments. The Author is supported by Publishers Group West and is widely considered one of the finest guidebooks in the country. This guidebook is part of a series of Moon Handbooks which strives to provide the latest and greatest of all regions researched and that includes the Silicon Valley.

    I do consider this source valid and absolutely useful based on the detailed historical facts provided. This book will help me build an extensive picture for the reader about the historical aspects of the Silicon Valley and worldwide impacts of which most individuals are not aware of.

Malone, Michael S. The Big Score: The Billion-dollar Story of Silicon Valley. Garden City, NY:

         Doubleday, 1985. Print.

    The main objective of this book is to take a look beneath the glamour of the Silicon Valley as the high-tech hub of the world and better understand its roots, its faults, and its futuristic outlook. The book was copyrighted in 1985, so the details provided are dated, but that does not mean useless. My strategy is to use this view toward my benefit with current knowledge. He strives to create a thorough picture of the daily lives of people who work in major companies throughout the Valley and the stressful yet joyous lifestyles they live. He also attempts to describe a prediction of the future and how the Silicon Valley will evolve. The Author of this book is a respected writer with a working background in the Silicon Valley.

    Like the Author, I will try and use his strategy by making a prediction/projection as to where the Silicon Valley will be 10 years from now. My guess is that a decade from now will be completely different from today and by honing the Authors logic I feel it can also be quite insightful.