cover image Fearless Genius: The Digital Revolution in Silicon Valley 1985–2000

Fearless Genius: The Digital Revolution in Silicon Valley 1985–2000

Doug Menuez. Atria, $45 (192p) ISBN 978-1-4767-5269-3

This photographic essay should not be as interesting as it is, a sentiment that Elliott Erwitt, who contributes the book’s foreword, shares: “How does one visually communicate the creation and dynamics of world-altering concepts... the people who essentially just sit and think.” In journalistic black and white, documentary photographer Menuez creates that visual narrative. The photos, accompanied by insightful captions, reveal the intense environment of Silicon Valley through contrasts: a photograph titled “Steve Jobs Pretending to Be Human” shows the subject contemplating a beach ball in a park; another portrays a high-powered executive delivering paperwork to colleagues while holding an infant on her shoulder; in a third, a group of factory workers wearing “bunny-suits” complete with helmets and booties do lunges during a group stretch. Sometimes faces tell the story of “Riding the Dot-Com Wave,” other times it’s objects: photos and stuffed animals on top of a computer monitor or empty take-out cartons. Menuez was given an all-access pass to Silicon Valley thanks to Jobs, who is one of several geek celebrities featured. The book, with an introduction by Kurt Andersen, will feel nostalgic for those who were a part of the action; for outsiders, it will both confirm and explode perceptions of what really took place during a strange and exciting time. B&w photos. [em]Agent: Jonathan Breiter, Public Group. (May) [/em]