Q&A: Margaret O'Mara

BOOKS

- Meredith Wolf Schizer

How did you come up with the idea for the book?

I’ve been studying the history of the tech industry for a long time, and people always kept asking me, “How did Silicon Valley do it?” and “How can we build another Silicon Valley?” I wrote the book to answer those questions.

I also set out to show how, despite all its disruptive, risk-embracing iconoclasm, the Valley has always been deeply connected to and shaped by other places and people: Wall Street, Washington D.C. and tech hubs like Boston and Seattle. We can’t separate the story of these extraordinary companies and entrepreneurs from the broader history of modern American culture, politics and business enterprise—they’ve been intertwined all along.

What obstacles did you face when researching the book and how did you overcome them?