Is there a book on the history of the web browser? Not finding anything particularly relevant on Amazon UK. - ThreadSky

shirakaba.bsky.social • 79 days ago

Is there a book on the history of the web browser?

Not finding anything particularly relevant on Amazon UK.

Comments

foolip.org•79 days ago

You might like https://htmlparser.info/ by @zcorpan.bsky.social, it has some history on HTML specifically.

foolip.org•79 days ago

https://codersatwork.com/ also has some browser history IIRC, it’s been a while.

outbreath.bsky.social•76 days ago

charles ferguson's "high stakes, no prisoners" and michael lewis's "the new new thing" both give windows into early browser history and are great reads.

flower.codes•79 days ago

The History of The Web has a whole chapter (although I can’t recommend the website itself strongly enough, its excellent): https://thehistoryoftheweb.com/book/browsers/

graphyne.dev•79 days ago

There is some interesting history of Apple Safari in Creative Selection by @kocienda.bsky.social

graphyne.dev•79 days ago

Yes we really miss a unified history book. It will make some of the design decisions easier to understand.

davetotherescue.com•79 days ago

Did you do a search for ARPANET?

shirakaba.bsky.social•79 days ago

nope

davetotherescue.com•79 days ago

Here’s one: https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262511155/inventing-the-internet/

Didn’t read it but search that term and you’ll maybe find some interesting free articles
Etc

shirakaba.bsky.social•79 days ago

Is this a history of kinda everything up until the web browser itself? I'm less interested in the networking and more interested in web browsers themselves (turning HTML, JS, and CSS into an interactive GUI experience) and who was behind all that.

davetotherescue.com•79 days ago

It’s entertainment and a fictionalized story based on Compaq and John McAfee but Halt and Catch Fire may be of interest to you. Gets into the stories of early web browsing, personal computers, messages boards and online community.

jaxroam.bsky.social•79 days ago

No "book" but:
HTML, HTTP, and URL all TimBL/WWW

Mosaic first to do GIF inline, don't know who

JS created and AFAIK implemented by Brendan Eich

Netscape wanted JSS instead of CSS, and IE used bits of CSS1&2, but Ivarsøy did first complete CSS1 implementation.

https://jaxroam.vivaldi.net/2006/03/18/death-in-the-family/

gruber.foo•75 days ago

I’m not aware of a book focused on web browsers in general, but Ken Kocienda’s “Creative Selection” offers a good first-person perspective on how Apple started Safari and WebKit.

http://creativeselection.io

shirakaba.bsky.social•75 days ago

We got that for our dad’s birthday this year, so I may give it a read when I visit the family for Christmas!

asadotzler.com•79 days ago

Been thinking about this for decades.

Wasn't there from '94 - '98, but that era is actually well documented, in evidence and opinion from US v. Microsoft. ;)

I worked for Mozilla for 25 years, and want to build some type of browser history with others who lived it. Perhaps https://folklore.org style.

asadotzler.com•79 days ago

To answer your question more precisely. No. To my knowledge, no such book exists.

There are a few books and other long-form media that cover eras, usually from niche angles, but there's nothing comprehensive and Wikipedia is so much more lacking than anyone on the outside could possibly imagine.

asadotzler.com•79 days ago

Also, I was serious about US v MS. The evidence, the witness testimony, the testimonials, and the contemporary tech and mainstream press coverage, almost all available to you or anyone else, contains a decent amount of early web browser history. Feed it to a slop bot and ask for a browser book?

shirakaba.bsky.social•79 days ago

I’m surprised such a book doesn’t exist!

It would be nice if someone connected to all the old browser players went around collecting perspectives from the different browser teams and collating everything into a book.

asadotzler.com•79 days ago

shirakaba.bsky.social•78 days ago

> I worked for Mozilla for 25 years, and want to build some type of browser history with others who lived it. Perhaps https://folklore.org style.

Ah, I missed this message (BlueSky didn't deliver that first one in the thread). Yeah, you'd be perfect for the task, go for it!

morspin.bsky.social•78 days ago

I was working in hypermedia production throughout the 90s. We started generating HyperCard & Asymetrix ToolBook readers written to CD-ROM as one-offs for customers and ended the decade pouring out databases (mostly Access and Paradox(???)) into pages of HTML.

reidmore.bsky.social•79 days ago

Broad Band by Claire L Evans, it’s not specifically on just browsers but there are chapters that cover the early history and they are fascinating!

shirakaba.bsky.social•79 days ago

Nice, adding to list!

jlori.bsky.social•77 days ago

Your question was very stimulating. I think many of us have started to review our libraries. There is a lot about the history of the Internet and the Web, but it seems that nothing specific to browsers. I point out two references:

https://browser.engineering/

https://global.oup.com/academic/product/how-the-web-was-born-9780192862075

anniesullie.com•79 days ago

Probably not as deep as you're looking for, but there is a chapter in the book Web Browser Engineering: https://browser.engineering/history.html

shirakaba.bsky.social•79 days ago

I was actually eyeing up buying this book (as I've coded along with some of the chapters in the online edition), but sadly it only comes out post-Christmas.

A fun chapter, but not a stocking filler, unfortunately!

ryantomczik.bsky.social•79 days ago

https://www.amazon.com/How-Internet-Happened-Netscape-iPhone-ebook/dp/B07BLJ1QYZ?dplnkId=2eb7968c-4e24-49fb-888e-b18888125941

shirakaba.bsky.social•79 days ago

Seems like this is a US import only and wouldn't make it for Christmas, sadly! Kindle edition not offered from Amazon UK for some reason.

ryantomczik.bsky.social•79 days ago

Can order a copy to support the author and download a digital copy now 🤷‍♂️
https://dokumen.pub/how-the-internet-happened-from-netscape-to-the-iphone-9781631493089-1631493086.html

grabbou.com•79 days ago

Had it paperback and I recommend. It says it all!

tasteink.bsky.social•79 days ago

Sorry I deleted it

theactualbrian.bsky.social•78 days ago

Have you tried your local library?
Checked their card catalog?

...or catalogue?

shirakaba.bsky.social•78 days ago

No I have not tried my local Japanese library

theactualbrian.bsky.social•78 days ago

Well then, I'm sure there's a very adorable manga about it somewhere.

steren.fr•79 days ago

Write one

shirakaba.bsky.social•79 days ago

I would be wholly underqualified for the task

noeldemartin.com•79 days ago

There is one about the web written by Tim Berners-Lee, so that one at least covers the first few years: https://www.w3.org/People/Berners-Lee/Weaving/

morspin.bsky.social•78 days ago

I have a copy of Fred Moody's "I Sing the Body Electronic", an account of a year he spent as a fly on the wall at Microsoft watching various people build Encarta. This started off as a pre-web (meaning pre-Netscape) project, but was obsolete within a year or two after release.

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