Palo Alto: A History of California, Capitalism, and the World
- Downloads：4669
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2023-02-26 09:21:37
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Malcolm Harris
- ISBN：B0B38T91QJ
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Nina
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good and thoroughly researched book， but be warned that the modern "Palo Alto" component takes a while to emerge。 the structure often feels like a tree， with different branches/individuals/historical incidents being pursued until an eventual direction to an additional reference， rather than presenting a single， coherent thread。 that all said， very much enjoyed it - great for a nonfiction junkie。 good and thoroughly researched book， but be warned that the modern "Palo Alto" component takes a while to emerge。 the structure often feels like a tree， with different branches/individuals/historical incidents being pursued until an eventual direction to an additional reference， rather than presenting a single， coherent thread。 that all said， very much enjoyed it - great for a nonfiction junkie。 。。。more
Richard Thompson
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I was intrigued by the idea of a Marxist history of Silicon Valley with an emphasis on the role of Stanford and Palo Alto， and as a graduate of Stanford Law School， I have my own ideas about the university and its town。It's a long book that often wanders away from its core subject matter。 It doesn't even get to computers or biotech until halfway into the book。 It would have been better if it had been more focused。 And Mr。 Harris plows a lot of old ground。 We all know already that that the early I was intrigued by the idea of a Marxist history of Silicon Valley with an emphasis on the role of Stanford and Palo Alto， and as a graduate of Stanford Law School， I have my own ideas about the university and its town。It's a long book that often wanders away from its core subject matter。 It doesn't even get to computers or biotech until halfway into the book。 It would have been better if it had been more focused。 And Mr。 Harris plows a lot of old ground。 We all know already that that the early settlers oppressed and killed the Native Americans。 We all know that labor conditions were horrible， particularly for the minority groups who made up the bulk of the work force， in the mines， railroads and ranches on which California's economy was built。 Anybody who knows anything about Stanford knows of its shameful connection to eugenics and it's long tendency to tilt to the right politically。 The tower of the right-leaning Hoover Institute is still the most prominent building on campus。 （It was also the place where I used to go to read Pravda and Izvestia to practice my Russian back when I was a student there， so even at the Hoover Institute there is some room for a plurality of views。） I guess you can say that all of these things are impelled by the historical development of capitalism， but for me that doesn't add much to the analysis。 Let's just own them as mistakes of the past and look for ways to move on from them。 In contemporary times， we also have to acknowledge that high tech has promoted our problem of income and wealth disparity and has generally been bad for the working person， reducing and outsourcing jobs， eliminating job security， avoiding labor unions， forcing people to part time contractor positions without benefits and creating modern sweatshop working conditions where workers are constantly monitored and pushed until they break。 These are things that need to be fixed。 Are they impelled by the logic of capitalism？ Maybe。 But that doesn't mean that we have to accept them。 Throughout the book， Mr Harris consistently maintains a snarky tone， emphasizing the negative and mocking the people who built Silicon Valley。 I'm not against a good polemic。 It's OK to bash bad guys for being bad， but Mr。 Harris should take a few lessons from his mentors， starting with Karl Marx。 If you want to go after a bad guy， just lay into him with all that you have got， don't dance around it with snippy and ironic remarks。 That just makes Mr。 Harris look like a whiney child of privilege instead of a crusading reformer。 And though you don't have to be fair and balanced when you are in attack mode， it's hard to deny that Silicon Valley has produced a lot of good along with the bad。I still think that the basic idea of the book was a good one that I can get behind。 It just wasn't executed in a way that I found satisfying。 。。。more
Lauren
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Am I allowed to write a review of a book I didn't even come close to finishing？ Absolutely。 I was pulled in by the title and synopsis。 "Palo Alto is nice。 The weather is temperate， the people are educated， rich， healthy， enterprising。 Remnants of a hippie counterculture have synthesized with high technology and big finance to produce the spiritually and materially ambitious heart of Silicon Valley， whose products are changing how we do everything from driving around to eating food。 It is also a Am I allowed to write a review of a book I didn't even come close to finishing？ Absolutely。 I was pulled in by the title and synopsis。 "Palo Alto is nice。 The weather is temperate， the people are educated， rich， healthy， enterprising。 Remnants of a hippie counterculture have synthesized with high technology and big finance to produce the spiritually and materially ambitious heart of Silicon Valley， whose products are changing how we do everything from driving around to eating food。 It is also a haunted toxic waste dump built on stolen Indian burial grounds， and an integral part of the capitalist world system。"But this NY Times review rang true: https://www。nytimes。com/2023/02/14/bo。。。And I stopped reading。 。。。more
Charlie
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i enjoyed the first half more than the second， but overall this is a thorough communist analysis and history of the silicon valley and California as a whole。
Katy
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An ambitious， accessible， and entertaining history of California and case study of capital in America。 Excited for more people to read this important book！
Aubrey
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This is going to be repressed memories， exposure-therapy， the-past-isn't-dead-it's-not-even-past levels of a painful read for me， but mother of fuck is it necessary。 This is going to be repressed memories， exposure-therapy， the-past-isn't-dead-it's-not-even-past levels of a painful read for me， but mother of fuck is it necessary。 。。。more
Shaun
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Considering it was Europeans that invented the printing press， cars， democracy and many other things - it was hardly Northern California that created the world as we know it 。。。 though they are guilty of inflicting wokeness and other evils on the world。。
Morgan
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Palo Alto covers a great amount of history from the 1900s to present day。 I really enjoyed Harris' writing style that made the book more engaging and felt shorter than the 720 pages it is。 I particularly found the parts about the ideologies and policies that came from Palo Alto/Stanford extremely fascinating。 I'd definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys reading history。 Thank you to NetGalley and Little， Brown and Company for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review。 Palo Alto covers a great amount of history from the 1900s to present day。 I really enjoyed Harris' writing style that made the book more engaging and felt shorter than the 720 pages it is。 I particularly found the parts about the ideologies and policies that came from Palo Alto/Stanford extremely fascinating。 I'd definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys reading history。 Thank you to NetGalley and Little， Brown and Company for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Nathan Shuherk
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A smart， funny， and maddening reevaluation of where the capitalist system truly lives and has existed since the 20th century。 The whole time the reader knows where the story is going， but the nearly 700 pages are full of incredible vignettes of the seizure of power- of course， in literal capital， but far more importantly， through ideology。 The first half is a fun history book， but as the Cold War starts， it feels like a blend of horror and true crime。 Definitely a book you’ll want to check out
Ajk
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So it is definitely a 600-page book in heft and spirit。 You should know that before you go in。 Harris' style is very glib and chatty （in a way I really appreciated！）， so sometimes you forget that it's a 600-page book。 But then you're like really deep into Revolutionary Communist Party intrapolitics and how it relates to silicon wafer production and you're like "oh， right， it's a 600-page book。"Harris gives his guides really clearly。 Lots of Marx。 A smattering of Ocalan。 He takes this stuff serio So it is definitely a 600-page book in heft and spirit。 You should know that before you go in。 Harris' style is very glib and chatty （in a way I really appreciated！）， so sometimes you forget that it's a 600-page book。 But then you're like really deep into Revolutionary Communist Party intrapolitics and how it relates to silicon wafer production and you're like "oh， right， it's a 600-page book。"Harris gives his guides really clearly。 Lots of Marx。 A smattering of Ocalan。 He takes this stuff seriously， and the history is better for it。 There's no great men in Silicon Valley history， just a series of unwitting dupes who signify historical changes。 The book is great for showing how capitalist modes of production gave us all this， and its strongest points are showing how capitalism marked everything it touched， like a 170-year flash flood。 And there's definitely some really bleak parts of the book， but Harris does a great job concluding everything on an upbeat note and pointing out where the struggle is。Palo Alto should be up there as one of those Great Books About California and is probably on par with Nature's Metropolis in Books About A Place And Also an Economy。 I learned a lot reading it， and wish it came out years ago when I moved to the Bay， or even earlier when I was in high school and wondering what was up with the world。 It's a great book for the curious， and is probably gonna get a ton of stick from the incurious because it asks good questions of history and comes up with answers that have a bag of critique attached to them。 。。。more
Shane Savitsky
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As a Stanford alum， I spent serious portions of this book thinking， "Man， I really liked my four years in paradise。 I don't want to reckon with the fact that its administrators in the 1930s used it as one big eugenics experiment。" So I'm grateful for its clear-eyed history of a place that leans hard into its hagiography。 Of course， if you didn't go to Stanford or spend significant time in Palo Alto， your mileage may vary here。My main criticism is that while this book is ostensibly about Palo Alt As a Stanford alum， I spent serious portions of this book thinking， "Man， I really liked my four years in paradise。 I don't want to reckon with the fact that its administrators in the 1930s used it as one big eugenics experiment。" So I'm grateful for its clear-eyed history of a place that leans hard into its hagiography。 Of course， if you didn't go to Stanford or spend significant time in Palo Alto， your mileage may vary here。My main criticism is that while this book is ostensibly about Palo Alto — and large chunks of it are indeed laser-focused on its minutiae — its ambitions go far beyond a single city in California， often to its detriment。 Long stretches are spent trying to bend huge parts of American history and world history into its Valley-focused anti-capitalist and anti-colonialist lens in a way that starts to feel repetitive。 It succeeds here and there， but many portions felt like a slog， making a very long book feel even longer。I was also so let down by its ultimate "radical proposition for how we might begin to change course" （spoiler alert: it's giving Stanford and Palo Alto back to the Indigenous peoples who originally inhabited the area）。 It's such a naïve suggestion — put forth quite seriously as a "modest action" — that all but ignores the preceding hundreds of pages about how capitalism won't let go of something productive once its claws are in it。2。5 stars for me， rounded up to 3。 Fascinated by some of it， bored by a lot of it， and I really felt like its conclusion was pulled straight from a sophomore-year essay。Thanks to Little， Brown and Company for the ARC！ 。。。more
Lily
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