Close to the Machine

<strong><em>Close to the Machine: Technophilia and Its Discontents</em>, Ellen Ullman's cult classic memoir of the world of computers in the 1980s and early 1990s, is an insight of a world we rarely see up close.</strong>

"Astonishing... impossible to put down"<em>San Francisco Chronicle</em>

"We see the seduction at the heart of programming: embedded in the hijinks and hieroglyphics are the esoteric mysteries of the human mind"
&mdash; <em>Wired</em>

<em>Close to the Machine</em> has become a cult classic: Ellen Ullman's humane, insightful, and beautifully written memoir explores the ever-complicating intersections between people and technology; the strange ecstasies of programming; the messiness of life and the artful efficiency of code. It is a deeply personal, prescient account of working at the forefront of computing.

With a new introduction by Jaron Lanier, author of <em>You Are Not a Gadget</em>

"By turns hilarious and sobering, this slim gem of a book chronicles the Silicon Valley way of life... full of delicately profound insights into work, money, love, and the search for a life that matters"
&mdash; <em>Newsweek</em>

<b>Ellen Ullman</b>'s <em>Close to the Machine</em>, a memoir of her time as a software engineer during the early years of the internet revolution, became a cult classic and established her as a writer of considerable talent; with her second book, <em>The Bug</em>, she became an acclaimed and vital novelist; <em>By Blood</em> is her third. All three titles are published in the UK by Pushkin Press. Her essays and opinion pieces have been widely published in venues such as <em>Harper's</em>, <em>The New York Times</em>, <em>Salon</em>, and <em>Wired</em>. She lives in San Francisco.