On the Way to the Web: The Secret History of the Internet and Its Founders

The stories of the individuals who laid the foundation for the Internet are presented by Banks (The Modern Reference), who tracks the surprising origins of the World Wide Web back through several decades. Mixing history and trivia (such as the origins of the "@" sign), the author reveals such gems as how the first wireless Internet system was actually built in 1978, and how several unlikely characters became wealthy by being in the right place at the right time. Written for anyone who has ever "logged on," this book also discusses what happened to such early attempts at the "information superhighway" as Prodigy, DELPHI, CompuServe and Playnet. Annotation c2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Michael A. Banks is the author of more than 40 books, among them several titles that deal with Internet topics, including The eBay Survival Guide; Web Psychos, Stalkers, and Pranksters; The Modem Reference; PC Confidential; and Welcome to CompuServe. He is coauthor of CROSLEY: The Story of Two Brothers and the Business Empire that Transformed the Nation (Clerisy, 2006), the biography of twentieth-century industrialist/entrepreneur and communications magnate Powel Crosley, Jr. (This book made the New York Times extended bestseller list, the Wall Street Journal hardcover business book bestseller list, and the Business Week bestseller list. Having sold 45,000 copies during its first three months of existence, it received a full-page writeup in the February 12, 2007, issue of Publishers Weekly.) He has written hundreds of magazine articles and served as a contributing editor and columnist for Computer Shopper, Windows, and other magazines. Banks has been online since 1979, when he caught his first glimpse of CompuServe. During the 1980s, he was involved in a number of Internet firsts, including online book promotion. He has helped maintain bulletin board systems, was a special interest group (SIG) manager on DELPHI for a number of years, and worked in a consulting capacity for CompuServe and The Source. He wrote one of the first guides to online services, The Modem Reference (Brady/Simon & Schuster), which introduced hundreds of thousands of users to modems and the online world. Because of his reputation as a modem and telecommunications expert, GEnie and BIX (Byte Information Exchange) created special online forums for Banks early blogs. He has also advised a number of businesses in the area of online marketing.