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Terrible Nerd
Terrible Nerd is tech journalist-turned-Web publisher Kevin Savetz' biography of personal computing, gaming, and online adventures as a child in the '80s, and follows the author as an Internet pioneer in the early '90s and into his present-day Web success.
Rich in detail and personal memories, this is the story of a boy coming of age in the dawn of home computing. This tech memoir gives readers a front-row seat to a self-confessed geek's early experiences with computers. Accessible to non-techy readers and computer nerds alike, this treasure trove of memories shows how growing up as part of the first computer-native generation shaped friendships, hobbies, and, ultimately, a career.
Terrible Nerd brings to life late nights swapping software, hacking the school computer, causing trouble on college radio, a stint as AOL's Internet AnswerMan, and hosting a team of Microsoft suits in his small-town home office. Kevin brings his experiences to life, writing with insightful candor and historical accuracy.
Terrible Nerd celebrates an era in all its geeky glory. You'll enjoy following along as Kevin flunks out of P.E. class, gets busted for reading the Intellivision game catalog at church, and accidentally crashes the Internet for all of Europe – yet ultimately triumphs and even gets the girl.
"A joyous romp down memory lane for all us nerds who lived through the home computer revolution of the 1980's!" -- David Simmer II, Blogography
"Terrible Nerd is not only fun to read, but recounts some valuable computer history that is mostly overlooked elsewhere. Kevin recalls what it was like to grow up in the era of the first home computers and BBS communities. These were the soda fountains and fishing holes of our generation. Kevin's story will strike a chord with nerds and geeks of all ages. -- Gary Rosenzweig, MacMost
Rich in detail and personal memories, this is the story of a boy coming of age in the dawn of home computing. This tech memoir gives readers a front-row seat to a self-confessed geek's early experiences with computers. Accessible to non-techy readers and computer nerds alike, this treasure trove of memories shows how growing up as part of the first computer-native generation shaped friendships, hobbies, and, ultimately, a career.
Terrible Nerd brings to life late nights swapping software, hacking the school computer, causing trouble on college radio, a stint as AOL's Internet AnswerMan, and hosting a team of Microsoft suits in his small-town home office. Kevin brings his experiences to life, writing with insightful candor and historical accuracy.
Terrible Nerd celebrates an era in all its geeky glory. You'll enjoy following along as Kevin flunks out of P.E. class, gets busted for reading the Intellivision game catalog at church, and accidentally crashes the Internet for all of Europe – yet ultimately triumphs and even gets the girl.
"A joyous romp down memory lane for all us nerds who lived through the home computer revolution of the 1980's!" -- David Simmer II, Blogography
"Terrible Nerd is not only fun to read, but recounts some valuable computer history that is mostly overlooked elsewhere. Kevin recalls what it was like to grow up in the era of the first home computers and BBS communities. These were the soda fountains and fishing holes of our generation. Kevin's story will strike a chord with nerds and geeks of all ages. -- Gary Rosenzweig, MacMost
258 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 2, 2012
17 people are currently reading
49 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
November 16, 2012
I wrote this :)
March 5, 2017
Very enjoyable biography of Kevin Savetz. I imagine this would be nostalgic for anyone who lived through this period of computing history. I for one enjoy living through this era through the eyes of the writer (like this and Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution).
The story begins with Kevin's childhood, and his love of the Intellivision video game console, and his Atari computer, all the way to current time.
I enjoyed every minute.
The story begins with Kevin's childhood, and his love of the Intellivision video game console, and his Atari computer, all the way to current time.
I enjoyed every minute.
August 8, 2019
Great Book
Growing up at pretty much the same time, this book holds a lot of nostalgia for me ... Particularly the Atari 800 stuff! What, no love for Bruce Lee? A great read, and his podcast "Eaten By A Grue" is also awesome!
Growing up at pretty much the same time, this book holds a lot of nostalgia for me ... Particularly the Atari 800 stuff! What, no love for Bruce Lee? A great read, and his podcast "Eaten By A Grue" is also awesome!
September 28, 2025
My dad wrote this!
September 29, 2013
This autobiography is by a guy who grew up with and loved computers in the 70's and 80's as I did, so it was wonderfully nostalgic for me.
He leveraged his love for computers and skills as a writer to become a freelance writer for computer magazines, an author, website publisher, and Internet entrepreneur.
He writes in a clear, easy-to-follow style, and he's witty.
He shares candidly about mistakes he made along the way, even including illegal activities for which he was never caught and punished.
He does a great job of capturing the feeling at the time of the birth of the personal computer for those of us who were young and adventurous enough to immerse ourselves in these new wonderful toys and tools.
If you think you'd like this book, another one you may like is Extra Life by David Bennehum. Similar premise, with a different style and angle.
He leveraged his love for computers and skills as a writer to become a freelance writer for computer magazines, an author, website publisher, and Internet entrepreneur.
He writes in a clear, easy-to-follow style, and he's witty.
He shares candidly about mistakes he made along the way, even including illegal activities for which he was never caught and punished.
He does a great job of capturing the feeling at the time of the birth of the personal computer for those of us who were young and adventurous enough to immerse ourselves in these new wonderful toys and tools.
If you think you'd like this book, another one you may like is Extra Life by David Bennehum. Similar premise, with a different style and angle.
March 13, 2021
Update: 6-18-20: BTW, I absolutely love everything else that Savetz has created (podcasts, twitter posts, etc.) and I deeply respect his passion for preserving 8-bit history. I just didn't like the book for some reason...
Update: 3-13-21: Upping this to four stars. I skimmed through the book, and by golly, the book is good. I must have been in a bad place when I wrote my initial review. Looking forward to the sequel. :D
March 17, 2014
Enjoyed traveling down memory lane with computers and games of my past. Thank you for reminding me about the fun times of modem boxes that were not built in, how long everything used to take, and how much fun it all was. Surprised about how the church fundraiser went; really surprised. This really was a memoir, rather than straight computer history as it contains personal life stories too. Either way, I liked it.
May 3, 2015
I really enjoyed this book, primarily because it mirrored my life in a lot of ways. Except I stuck with just Atari computers until converting to a PC. I stay away from Apple stuff. The book has a lot of typos, but is very readable and entertaining.
November 16, 2012
Was a wonderful book enjoyed the stories and the history
September 3, 2013
The first half is a great encapsulation of 1980s home-computing culture. The rest of this autobiography remains well-written but lacks the vitality Mr Savetz imbues the era of Atari.
January 21, 2014
I loved this book. The author really takes you back to that core feeling getting into electronics. The 80's nostalgia is high within these pages as well.
May 21, 2015
A fun read that was very easy for me to relate to.
April 8, 2016
Terrible Nerd is a personal timeline for those of us who grew up before the Internet. The book was a nice trip down memory lane. Kevin was able to turn his love for computer into a lucrative career.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews