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A review by pixie_d
Broad Band by Claire L. Evans
3.0
The author provided in invaluable service in interviewing women who had been effectively erased from history before they die, thus reversing many erasures. Lots of stories in this book, some of which read like magazine articles, and some like those internet teaser stories where short bits of info are interleaved with massive amounts of ads. No doubt you'll enjoy some of the stories more than others. Personally, I liked the old-timey history more than the stories that took place contemporaneously with my own computer experiences, which have no resemblance to anything she wrote about (e.g., I lived in SF in the 90s, spent a ton of time on bbses, and never heard of the one she writes about that she says was so popular and based in SF at the time).
I also get the sense that to readers who couldn't afford early computers, etc., some of the stories might seem alienating, because there's a seemingly unconscious bias in what is never addressed in the book. I wonder if any other readers would sense that and possibly feel as marginalized as people of color at a 70s feminist convention. Or maybe readers will mistakenly assume that the casual mentions of people owning computers in their childhoods in the 60s, 70s and 80s represented the norm, when really those expensive devices were beyond the reach of most people. Still, it's worth reading, and you should probably do that, so the history continues to be remembered.
I also get the sense that to readers who couldn't afford early computers, etc., some of the stories might seem alienating, because there's a seemingly unconscious bias in what is never addressed in the book. I wonder if any other readers would sense that and possibly feel as marginalized as people of color at a 70s feminist convention. Or maybe readers will mistakenly assume that the casual mentions of people owning computers in their childhoods in the 60s, 70s and 80s represented the norm, when really those expensive devices were beyond the reach of most people. Still, it's worth reading, and you should probably do that, so the history continues to be remembered.