Eli Bendersky's website History-savvy computer-addicts know that the Internet started back in the 1970s with something called the ARPANET, but how many know the exact details of how that came to be?
It turns out there is an interesting story behind the ARPANET and its eventual transformation to the world-engulfing network we all know and love. There were visionary people who foresaw the future and worked diligently to achieve it, leaping over obstacles. There were brilliant engineers and programmers who created systems in the shortest time-frames, and there were enthusiastic users that pushed the network on and on to take its current shape. And there were even surprisingly enlightened government and military officials who actively contributed to the creation of an open and democratic network.
All of this is told in a very readable matter by the authors of this book. The book is short and doesn't get too much into the technical details (unfortunately!), so it can be finished in just a few hours. If you're interested in this subject or just wonder how the Internet came to be, it's highly recommended.