Computer Lib / Dream Machines
Self-published in 1974 by Ted Nelson, Computer Lib / Dream Machines is a two-sided manifesto challenging the “priesthood of computing,” the idea that only specialists should control and understand computers. Nelson argued that computers are universal creative media, not tools reserved for experts. The book introduced early concepts of hypertext and interactive, non-linear media, years before the World Wide Web made those ideas mainstream. Written in a deliberately accessible, zine-like style, it called on ordinary people to seize computing for themselves. It became a foundational text for the personal computing movement and continues to shape thinking about open, user-empowering software.