A deep dive into the origins of the epic, best-selling video game, featuring previously unreleased content, in the game creator's own words\n"Mechner's journey is a universal one for anyone creating something brand new... I'm excited to revisit these journals in newly illustrated form."-- Mike Krieger, co-founder of Instagram\nThe creator of one of the most innovative and best-selling video games of all time gives an unvarnished look into the process in this one-of-a-kind compilation.\nBefore Prince of Persia was a best-selling video game franchise and a Disney movie, it was an Apple II computer game created and programmed by one person, Jordan Mechner. Mechner's candid and revealing journals from the time capture the journey from his parents’ basement to the forefront of the fast-growing 1980s video game industry... and the creative, technical, and personal struggles that brought the prince into being and ultimately into the homes of millions of people worldwide.\nNow, on the 30th anniversary of Prince of Persia’s release, Mechner looks back at the journals he kept from 1985 to 1993, offering new insights into the game that established him as a pioneer of cinematic storytelling in the industry. This beautifully illustrated and annotated collector’s edition includes:\n-- 300 pages of Jordan’s original journals 
-- Present-day margin notations by Jordan adding explanation, context, and affectionate cartoons of real-life characters 
-- Archival visuals illustrating the stages of the game’s creation 
-- Work-in-progress sketches, rotoscoped animation, screen shots, interface design, memos, and more 
-- A full-color 32-page "Legacy" section in which Jordan and fans share Prince of Persia memories from the past 30 years, including the Ubisoft games and Disney movie\nThe Making of Prince of Persia is both a tribute to a timeless classic, and an indelible look at the creative process that will resonate with retro-gaming fans, game developers, and writers, artists, and creators of all stripes.

The Making of Prince of Persia: Journals 1985-1993

Computers & Technology

Mechner, Jordan

Games & Strategy Guides

Stripe Press

An inside look at modern open source software development and its influence on our online social world.\nOpen source software, in which developers publish code that anyone can use, has long served as a bellwether for other online behavior. In the late 1990s, it provided an optimistic model for public collaboration, but in the last 20 years it’s shifted to solo operators who write and publish code that's consumed by millions.\nIn Working in Public, Nadia Eghbal takes an inside look at modern open source software development, its evolution over the last two decades, and its ramifications for an internet reorienting itself around individual creators. Eghbal, who interviewed hundreds of developers while working to improve their experience at GitHub, argues that modern open source offers us a model through which to understand the challenges faced by online creators. She examines the trajectory of open source projects, including:\nThe GitHub platform for hosting and development The structures, roles, incentives, and relationships involved in open source projects The often-overlooked maintenance required of its creators The costs of production that endure through an application’s lifetime. Eghbal also scrutinizes the role of platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Twitch, YouTube, and Instagram, which reduce infrastructure and distribution costs for creators but which massively increase the scope of interactions with their audience.\nOpen source communities are increasingly centered around the work of individual developers rather than teams. Similarly, if creators, rather than discrete communities, are going to become the epicenter of our online social systems, we need to better understand how they work—and we can do so by studying what happened to open source.

Working in Public: The Making and Maintenance of Open Source Software

Business & Money

Eghbal, Nadia

Industries

A radical and timely proposal for reinvigorating transformative scientific discovery.\nSo rich was the scientific harvest of the early 20th century that it transformed entire industries and economies. Max Planck laid the foundation for quantum physics, Barbara McClintock for modern genetics, Linus Pauling for chemistry—the list goes on.\nIn the 1970s, the nature of scientific work started to change. Increases in public funding for scientific research brought demands that spending be justified, a system of peer review that selected only the research proposals promising the greatest returns, and a push for endless short-term miracles instead of in-depth, boundary-pushing research. A vicious spiral of decline began.\nIn Scientific Freedom, Donald W. Braben presents a framework to find and support cutting-edge, much-needed scientific innovation. Braben—who led British Petroleum’s Venture Research initiative, which aimed to identify and aid researchers challenging current scientific thinking—explains:\nThe conditions that catalyzed scientific research in the early 20th century The costs to society of our current research model The changing role of the university as a research institution How BP’s Venture Research initiative succeeded by minimizing bureaucracy and peer review, and the program’s impact The selection, budget, and organizational criteria for implementing a Venture Research program today. Even in the earliest stages, transformative and groundbreaking research can look unrecognizable to those who are accustomed to the patterns established by the past. Support for this research can, in fact, be low risk and offer rich rewards, but it requires rethinking the processes used to discover and sponsor scientists with groundbreaking ideas—and then giving those innovators the freedom to explore.\nFirst published in 2008, this new edition of Scientific Freedom includes over 30 redesigned charts and figures and a new foreword by Donald Braben.

Scientific Freedom: The Elixir of Civilization

Politics & Social Sciences

Braben, Donald W.

Social Sciences

High Growth Handbook is the playbook for growing your startup into a global brand. "If you want the chance to turn your startup into the next Google or Twitter, then read this trenchant guide from someone who played key roles in the growth of these companies." --Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn and New York Times #1 bestselling author Global technology executive, serial entrepreneur, and angel investor Elad Gil has worked with high-growth, tech companies like Airbnb, Twitter, Google, Stripe, and Square as they've grown from small companies to global enterprises. Across all of these breakout companies, a set of common patterns has evolved into a repeatable playbook that Gil has now codified in High Growth Handbook. In this definitive guide, Gil covers key topics, including: <ul>
<li>the role of the CEO </li>
<li>managing a board </li>
<li>recruiting and managing an executive team </li>
<li>mergers and acquisitions </li>
<li>initial public offerings </li>
<li>late-stage funding </li>
</ul> Interspersed with and informed by interviews with some of the biggest names in Silicon Valley including Reid Hoffman (LinkedIn), Marc Andreessen (Andreessen Horowitz), and Aaron Levie (Box), High Growth Handbook presents crystal-clear guidance for navigating the most complex challenges that confront leaders and operators in high-growth startups. Praise for High Growth Handbook: "Elad eschews trite management aphorisms in favor of pragmatic and straight-shooting insights on complex topics like managing a board of directors, executing functional re-organizations with as little trauma as possible, and everything in-between." --Dick Costolo, former CEO of Twitter and serial entrepreneur "Elad first invested in Airbnb when we were less than 10 people and provided early advice on scaling the company. This book shares these learnings for the next generation of entrepreneurs." --Nathan Blecharczyk, cofounder of Airbnb, Chief Strategy Officer, and Chairman of Airbnb China "Elad jam-packs every useful lesson about building and scaling companies into a single, digestible book. My only gripe is that he didn't write this when we were in the early days of Box as it would have saved my ass countless times." --Aaron Levie, cofounder and CEO of Box "Armed with observations gathered scaling some of the most successful and important companies of Silicon Valley, Elad has no-nonsense, highly applicable advice to any operator transitioning a company from the proverbial garage to the next stage and beyond." --Max Levchin, cofounder and CEO of Affirm, cofounder and CTO of PayPal "Elad is one of the most experienced operators in Silicon Valley having seen numerous companies hit their inflection point. His advice has been key for Coinbase as we go through hypergrowth, from hiring executives to improving M&amp;A." --Brian Armstrong, cofounder and CEO of Coinbase "Elad is one of the best connected and respected early stage investors in the Valley - he invested in Minted when we had fewer than 50 employees and his advice was critical to us in growing our business to where we are now, in the low hundreds of millions in sales. In his book, he crystallizes all of these learnings for the next generation of companies." --Mariam Naficy, cofounder and CEO of Minted

High Growth Handbook: Scaling Startups from 10 to 10,000 People

Gil, Elad

Management & Leadership

Behind every great revolution is a vision and behind perhaps the greatest revolution of our time, personal computing, is the vision of J.C.R. Licklider. He did not design the first personal computers or write the software that ran on them, nor was he involved in the legendary early companies that brought them to the forefront of our everyday experience. He was instead a relentless visionary that saw the potential of the way individuals could interact with computers and software. At a time when computers were a short step removed from mechanical data processors, Licklider was writing treatises on "human-computer symbiosis", "computers as communication devices", and a now not-so-unfamiliar "Intergalactic Network." His ideas became so influential, his passion so contagious, that Waldrop called him "computing's Johnny Appleseed. In a simultaneously compelling personal narrative and comprehensive historical exposition, Waldrop tells the story of the man who not only instigated the work that led to the internet, but also shifted our understanding of what computers were and could be. Included in this edition are also the original texts of Licklider's three most influential writings: 'Man-computer symbiosis' (1960), which outlines the vision that inspired the personal computer revolution of the 1970s; his 'Intergalactic Network' memo (1963), which outlines the vision that inspired the internet; and "The computer as a communication device" (1968, co-authored with Robert Taylor), which amplifies his vision for what the network could become.

The Dream Machine

Biographies & Memoirs

Waldrop, M. Mitchell

Professionals & Academics

Growth is good. Through history, economic growth, in particular, has alleviated human misery, improved human happiness and opportunity, and lengthened human lives. Wealthier societies are more stable, offer better living standards, produce better medicines, and ensure greater autonomy, greater fulfillment, and more sources of fun. If we want to continue on our trends of growth, and the overwhelmingly positive outcomes for societies that come with it, every individual must become more concerned with the welfare of those around us. So, how do we proceed? Tyler Cowen, in a culmination of 20 years of thinking and research, provides a roadmap for moving forward. In this new book, Stubborn Attachments: A Vision for a Society of Free, Prosperous, and Responsible Individuals, Cowen argues that our reason and common sense can help free us of the faulty ideas that hold us back as people and as a society. Stubborn Attachments, at its heart, makes the contemporary moral case for economic growth and delivers a great dose of inspiration and optimism about our future possibilities. "Tyler Cowen is one of the most intriguing and eclectic thinkers on the planet like many people, I read something by him every day. In Stubborn Attachments he combines economics and philosophy in a truly important achievement. His best, most ambitious and most personal work. -Tim Harford, author of The Undercover Economist As a means of practicing the altruism that Stubborn Attachments argues for, Tyler Cowen is donating all earnings from this book to a man he met in Ethiopia earlier this year with aspirations to open his own travel business.

Stubborn Attachments: A Vision for a Society of Free, Prosperous, and Responsible Individuals

Cowen, Tyler

Business Culture

In the words of economist and scholar Arnold Kling, Martin Gurri saw it coming. Technology has categorically reversed the information balance of power between the public and the elites who manage the great hierarchical institutions of the industrial age government, political parties, the media. The Revolt of the Public tells the story of how insurgencies, enabled by digital devices and a vast information sphere, have mobilized millions of ordinary people around the world. Originally published in 2014, this updated edition of The Revolt of the Public includes an extensive analysis of Donald Trump's improbable rise to the presidency and the electoral triumphs of Brexit and concludes with a speculative look forward, pondering whether the current elite class can bring about a reformation of the democratic process, and whether new organizing principles, adapted to a digital world, can arise out of the present political turbulence. "All over the world, elite institutions from governments to media to academia are losing their authority and monopoly control of information to dynamic amateurs and the broader public. This book, until now only in samizdat (and Kindle) form, has been my #1 handout for the last several years to anyone seeking to understand this unfolding shift in power from hierarchies to networks in the age of the Internet." --Marc Andreessen, co-founder, Netscape and Andreessen Horowitz "We are in an open war between publics with passionate and untutored interests and elites who believe they have the right to guide those publics. Gurri asks the essential question: can liberal representative democracy survive the rise of the publics? --Roger Berkowitz, Founder and Academic Director of the Hannah Arendt Center, Professor of Politics and Human Rights at Bard College

The Revolt of the Public and the Crisis of Authority in the New Millennium

Gurri, Martin

Philosophy

A groundbreaking treatise by one of the great mathematicians of our age, who outlines a style of thinking by which great ideas are conceived.\nWhat inspires and spurs on a great idea? Can we train ourselves to think in a way that will enable world-changing understandings and insights to emerge?\nRichard Hamming said we can. He first inspired a generation of engineers, scientists, and researchers in 1986 with “You and Your Research,” an electrifying sermon on why some scientists do great work, why most don’t, why he did, and why you can—and should—too. The Art of Doing Science and Engineering is the full expression of what “You and Your Research” outlined. It's a book about thinking; more specifically, a style of thinking by which great ideas are conceived.\nThe book is filled with stories of great people performing mighty deeds—but they are not meant simply to be admired. Instead, they are to be aspired to, learned from, and surpassed. Hamming consistently returns to Shannon’s information theory, Einstein’s theory of relativity, Grace Hopper’s work on high-level programming, Kaiser’s work on digital fillers, and his own work on error-correcting codes. He also recounts a number of his spectacular failures as clear examples of what to avoid.\nOriginally published in 1996 and adapted from a course that Hamming taught at the US Naval Postgraduate School, this edition includes an all-new foreword by designer, engineer, and founder of Dynamicland Bret Victor, plus more than 70 redrawn graphs and charts.\nThe Art of Doing Science and Engineering is a reminder that a capacity for learning and creativity are accessible to everyone. Hamming was as much a teacher as a scientist, and having spent a lifetime forming and confirming a theory of great people and great ideas, he prepares the next generation for even greater distinction.

The Art of Doing Science and Engineering: Learning to Learn

Richard W. Hamming

There's a saying that people don't leave companies, they leave managers. Management is a key part of any organization, yet the discipline is often self-taught and unstructured. Getting to the good solutions of complex management challenges can make the difference between fulfillment and frustration for teams, and, ultimately, the success or failure of companies. Will Larson's An Elegant Puzzle orients around the particular challenges of engineering management--from sizing teams to technical debt to succession planning--and provides a path to the good solutions. Drawing from his experience at Digg, Uber, and Stripe, Will Larson has developed a thoughtful approach to engineering management that leaders of all levels at companies of all sizes can apply. An Elegant Puzzle balances structured principles and human-centric thinking to help any leader create more effective and rewarding organizations for engineers to thrive in.

An Elegant Puzzle: Systems of Engineering Management

Larson, Will

"With no jargon and no nonsense, Bailey, Kevin and Kai lay out simple, practical steps for helping people come together in meaningful and powerful ways." --Dave Isay, Founder of StoryCorps and winner of the TED Prize Although communities feel magical, they don't come together by magic. Get Together is a practical and heartfelt guide to cultivating a community. Whether starting a run crew, connecting with fans online, or sparking a movement of K-12 teachers, the secret to getting people together is this: build your community with people, not for them. In Get Together, Bailey, Kevin and Kai share true stories of everyday people who created thriving communities, both in-person and online. They untangle the challenge of getting passionate people together into clear steps, helping individuals and organizations navigate the intricacies of leading a community, including: -- How to rally the first people -- How to get people talking -- How to attract new, authentic folks -- How to develop leaders and expand globally The People &amp; Company team reminds us that we each hold the potential to spark a community. Get Together shows readers how if we join forces--as company and customers, artist and fans, organizer and advocates--we'll do more together than we ever could alone. "I highly recommend Get Together for anyone who's looking to crack the code on building a community." --Alisha Ramos, Founder of Girls' Night In More advance praise for Get Together: "Get Together tells the stories and reveals the insights of community building. Don't start one without reading this book." --Robert Wang, Founder of Instant Pot "As a leader of a social impact organization, I found Get Together to be helpful in thinking about how we could do better at building and cultivating the community around IDEO.org. I'd recommend Get Together to anyone organizing or participating in communities, personally or professionally." --Jocelyn Wyatt, CEO of IDEO.org "Get Together is a book about our most valuable resource--people--and how to get them together. Sounds simple; but then all great ideas are." --Craig Pearce, Co-writer of Romeo + Juliet, Moulin Rouge!, and The Great Gatsby "In a time of growing social isolation and disconnection from what matters most, Bailey, Kevin and Kai offer a vision for how the world could be. Read it!" --Casper ter Kuile, Co-author of the How We Gather report "This book encapsulates what took me 20 years to learn at Surfrider in a 90 minute read. It provides clear guidance on how to methodically build a thriving community." --Dr. Chad Nelsen, CEO of Surfrider Foundation "Get Together is a must-read. As a community builder, I have an immense appreciation for the way Bailey, Kai and Kevin broke things down." --Claire Wasserman, Founder of Ladies Get Paid "As the producer of the first Star Wars Celebration, I had to work with my team and Lucasfilm to build an event that was worthy of the worldwide Star Wars community. I wish I had had a book like Get Together back then--I would've devoured it to gain insight on building my community to give me a head start!" --Dan Madsen, Former President of the Official Star Wars Fan Club "At a time when the extremes have become the norm and acute polarisation is on the rise, Get Together is a much needed roadmap to building authentic communities for good, that can ultimately outcompete the bad." --Sasha Havlicek, CEO of Institute for Strategic Dialogue

Get Together: How to Build a Community With Your People

Richardson, Bailey

Huynh, Kevin

Sotto, Kai Elmer

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