The Code

If this is not THE book to read for those seeking to understand the keys to the success of the American innovation model, it is nevertheless difficult to find better. The book retraces the entire history of Silicon Valley, starting at the beginning, that is to say, the mythical times, those of the founding of Stanford, then the Los Alamos project and Caltech. The journey is continuous, detailed and, above all, full of meaning, because Margret O'Mara has something to teach us: if a few genius entrepreneurs had a determining influence on the emergence of Silicon Valley, it is even more true of the university environment, and particularly of military and research funding, which is often excessive and whose role is often forgotten. The book, of which each chapter is a self-contained story, is quite breathtaking and, if it were not 500 pages long, one would tend to read it in one go.

It is particularly recommended for our political actors and for all those who think they know what allows a company or an institution to become innovative. In reality, humility leads us to admit that it is a clever mix of entrepreneurial freedom and thinking, benevolence, which allows us to pay attention to what others are doing, pleasure in innovating, financing and human capital (we must be able to find the right resources at the right time). If all this seems simple at first sight, it is devilishly difficult to meet these conditions; there is always something wrong, except in exceptional cases.

Particular attention should be paid to the ambiguous relationship between Washington and the Valley. Entrepreneurs despise Washington and often fail to remember that their funding comes from there. They call them corrupt but do not hesitate to ask them to regulate this or that area whenever necessary. On their side, the political actors compete to help this rare ecosystem to develop but, it is obvious that they do not understand everything that happens there.

When you are in France, you often hear a lot of preconceived ideas about this environment. The importance of entrepreneurs is always overestimated, the context of the Cold War is generally omitted and the countless bankruptcies of companies that did not have the strategic and operational quality of those we know, are hardly remembered. A thousand other small details and anecdotes should be underlined and passed on; this is why this magnificent work should be read.