The Woz
By Grose, Thomas
BOOK REVIEW
The Woz
iWoz: Computer Geek to Cult Icon
By Steve Wozniak
IN 1975, a brilliant electrical engineer with a counterculture mindset and passion for Bob Dylan hooked up with Steve Jobs to form Apple Computer. Steve Wozniak’s career there was short-lived; he pretty much retired after surviving a 1981 plane crash. But he was the engineering genius who got the idea of combining the familiar “qwerty” keyboard with a video screen and computer circuitry to make the world’s first personal computer. Thanks to “Woz,” computers became fairly cheap and ready-to-use. His innovations are legendary; experts often refer to the circuitry he invented as “elegant.” Just published: his autobiography, “iWoz: Computer Geek to Cult Icon.” And for anyone interested in the origins of the PC industry and how Woz did it, it’s a must-read tome (though a slim one at just 313 pages). “iWoz” also covers Wozniak’s many other life adventures: promoting rock concerts, philanthropy-even teaching fifth-grade computer classes. But what will fascinate most readers is his account of how he and that other Steve started a revolution. -TG
Copyright AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR ENGINEERING EDUCATION Dec 2006
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