Massive cultural, political, social, and technical history of the people, schools, companies, and institutions in and around the Palo Alto, CA region. Beware, the author appears to have an axe to grind. Most of the contributions to society from the technical advancements born in Palo Alto are presented in a negative light.

This was an entertaining and informative read. I found myself sharing what I learned from this book with those around me. I recommend it to fans of good and highly readable non-fiction.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Delighted to highlighted this new release in “How Civilized,” a round-up of new and notable cultural history and pop culture titles in the Books section of Zoomer magazine. (see column and mini-review at link)

This read hits heavy, especially now. Malcolm Harris does a phenomenal job tracking back all the way to the 1800s to talk about California’s history and relationship with capitalism. Despite the read being dense, Harris’ voice makes the pages flip quicker. I’d also like to note that this isn’t a white-washed version of history— Harris makes it clear that systemic racism and discrimination played a huge role in California’s creation.

Overall, I’d recommend this read to anyone who’s interested in California’s history, capitalism/anti-capitalism, and technology (Harris dives into the role big tech plays in California). It is a thick book, but it’s worth the read if you’re a non-fiction lover… also the cover is just STUNNING.

Links: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5351802197
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A long, dense, and ultimately fascinating history of capitalism rooted in one relatively small town that has an outsize influence on the world as we know it. Harris has a definite lefty take on things and that informs what he chooses to cover -- in a sliding doors world there is a more conservative writer covering the same history but with a completely different take. The book does get bogged down sometimes and could have used a tighter edit, but overall, it's a fascinating look at how one posh suburb changed so many things.

Palo Alto covers a great amount of history from the 1900s to present day. I really enjoyed Harris' writing style that made the book more engaging and felt shorter than the 720 pages it is. I particularly found the parts about the ideologies and policies that came from Palo Alto/Stanford extremely fascinating. I'd definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys reading history. Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

As a Stanford alum, I spent serious portions of this book thinking, "Man, I really liked my four years in paradise. I don't want to reckon with the fact that its administrators in the 1930s used it as one big eugenics experiment." So I'm grateful for its clear-eyed history of a place that leans hard into its hagiography. Of course, if you didn't go to Stanford or spend significant time in Palo Alto, your mileage may vary here.

My main criticism is that while this book is ostensibly about Palo Alto — and large chunks of it are indeed laser-focused on its minutiae — its ambitions go far beyond a single city in California, often to its detriment. Long stretches are spent trying to bend huge parts of American history and world history into its Valley-focused anti-capitalist and anti-colonialist lens in a way that starts to feel repetitive. It succeeds here and there, but many portions felt like a slog, making a very long book feel even longer.

I was also so let down by its ultimate "radical proposition for how we might begin to change course" (spoiler alert: it's giving Stanford and Palo Alto back to the Indigenous peoples who originally inhabited the area). It's such a naïve suggestion — put forth quite seriously as a "modest action" — that all but ignores the preceding hundreds of pages about how capitalism won't let go of something productive once its claws are in it.

2.5 stars for me, rounded up to 3. Fascinated by some of it, bored by a lot of it, and I really felt like its conclusion was pulled straight from a sophomore-year essay.

Reading Palo Alto is like watching a great documentary: entertaining, well researched and you want to watch/read it again when you are done.

Malcolm Harris brings to life the history of the city and shows its evolution into the hub we know it is today. From politics to industry, we are taken on a journey that shows the growth and changes of Pablo Alto and I was never bored. Harris writes with humor and wit that never makes the stories boring and kept me reading every sentence.

Overall, Palo Alto is a phenomenal read for anyone who enjoys history!!