1. Tue, March 13, 7-9pn: Decoding Silicon Valley: The Insider’s Guide based on the book of the same name: a presentation by co-authors  ​Michelle E. Messina and ​Jonathan C. Baer.  Venue: SEMI, Milpitas, California UA.  Free, with pre-registration.  There will be a book-signing, with books available for purchase.

2. Thu, March 15, noon-1:30pm: Minitel: The Web before the Web, with authors Kevin Driscoll and Julien Mailland in conversation with Internet History Program Curatorial Director Marc Weber, followed by a book signing of Minitel: Welcome to the Internet. Venue: Computer History Museum, Mtn. View, California US.  Free, with pre-registration, and books will be sold there by Books Inc.

This book puts a human face on the Valley. It does not pretend to be a history of the entire Valley during this period or of the technology industries for which the place is now famous. This is a personal history of a cross section of the people who have settled here and of the place they call home with just enough of the technology story to make it interesting.

The book encompasses the five major migrations to the Valley since World War II: (1) the GIs, (2) Lockheed, (3) the chip makers, (4) the minicomputer folks, and (5) the software and web developers. Each is, if not the dominant group, at least a group representative of a particular period that lasted fifteen years or more. Each wave of people brought with it both increased economic prosperity and social change. This is their story, told as much as possible in their own words.

Tim Stanley is also the author of The Last of the Prune Pickers: A Pre-Silicon Valley Story, a popular local history. 350 pages, 70 photographs.