When O'Mara worked in the White House of Bill Clinton and Al Gore, she saw firsthand how deeply intertwined Silicon Valley was with the federal government, and how shallow the common understanding of the secrets of the Valley's success actually was. She tells the story of mavericks and visionaries, but also of powerful institutions creating the framework for innovation. It is a story of a community that started off remarkably homogeneous and tight-knit and stayed that way, and whose belief in its own mythology has deepened into a collective hubris that has led to astonishing triumphs as well as devastating second-order effects. -- adapted from jacket
Margaret O'Mara, an Associate Professor of History at the University of Washington, explores the intersection of Cold War science and technological innovation in her work. She delves into the historical development of knowledge-based cities and their impact on the quest for a new Silicon Valley, offering insights into how these environments fostered scientific advancements and economic growth. Her research highlights the significance of geography and collaboration in shaping the future of technology.
What is the magic formula for turning a place into a high-tech capital? How can a city or region become a high-tech powerhouse like Silicon Valley? For over half a century, through boom times and bust, business leaders and politicians have tried to become "the next Silicon Valley," but few have succeeded. This book examines why high-tech development became so economically important late in the twentieth century, and why its magic formula of people, jobs, capital, and institutions has been so difficult to replicate. Margaret O'Mara shows that high-tech regions are not simply accidental market creations but "cities of knowledge" - planned communities of scientific production that were shaped and subsidized by the original venture capitalist, the Cold War defense complex.At the heart of the story is the American research university, an institution enriched by Cold War spending and actively engaged in economic development. The story of the city of knowledge broadens our understanding of postwar urban history and of the relationship between civil society and the state in late twentieth-century America. It leads us to further redefine the American suburb as being much more than formless "sprawl," and shows how it is in fact the ultimate post-industrial city. Understanding this history and geography is essential to planning for the future of the high-tech economy, and this book is must reading for anyone interested in building the next Silicon Valley.
From the era of the industrial factory to the age of the microchip, Pivotal
Tuesdays explores four twentieth-century elections-1912, 1932, 1968, and
1992-using the election of the American president as a lens through which to
explore the broader sweep of the nation's social, economic, and political
history.
