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Connected: America's Role in Building the Internet
32 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2026
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March 1, 2026
Copy provided by the publisher
Today's tweens think that the Internet has always existed, but those of us who are older and wiser (and who can mimic the sound of a dial-up connection on demand) know otherwise.
Accompanied by colorful illustrations, there is a great, short history of computers starting with ARPA (Advanced Research Projects Agency) and addressing e mail, internet protocols, and Tim Berners-Lee's development of HTML. Since my first experience with the Internet in 1995 was text based, I wish the book had pointed out that at the beginning, there were no pictures on the Internet!
Popular online destinations like Google, MySpace, and Facebook are mentioned briefly, and the transition from desktop computers to phones is explained. I'd love to see a biography of Marian Croak, who helped develop the technology behind Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) that allowed people to use computers like telephones. This was a huge innovation, since video phones were something that always seemed like a very far off and sophisticated science fiction technology. Artificial intelligence is mentioned very briefly, and this ends with a nice timeline, glossary, and index.
While it hurt a little to see a picture of my first computer labeled as "A desktop computer from the late 20th century", this is a great, short overview of the development of the interent. I still have Sherman's very complete 2003 The History of the Internet, but am glad to have something a bit more updated to accompany it!
Today's tweens think that the Internet has always existed, but those of us who are older and wiser (and who can mimic the sound of a dial-up connection on demand) know otherwise.
Accompanied by colorful illustrations, there is a great, short history of computers starting with ARPA (Advanced Research Projects Agency) and addressing e mail, internet protocols, and Tim Berners-Lee's development of HTML. Since my first experience with the Internet in 1995 was text based, I wish the book had pointed out that at the beginning, there were no pictures on the Internet!
Popular online destinations like Google, MySpace, and Facebook are mentioned briefly, and the transition from desktop computers to phones is explained. I'd love to see a biography of Marian Croak, who helped develop the technology behind Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) that allowed people to use computers like telephones. This was a huge innovation, since video phones were something that always seemed like a very far off and sophisticated science fiction technology. Artificial intelligence is mentioned very briefly, and this ends with a nice timeline, glossary, and index.
While it hurt a little to see a picture of my first computer labeled as "A desktop computer from the late 20th century", this is a great, short overview of the development of the interent. I still have Sherman's very complete 2003 The History of the Internet, but am glad to have something a bit more updated to accompany it!
Displaying 1 of 1 review