Scholarly research that reads like a novel.

History of technology buffs, like good detectives, love the hunt and "Bright Boys" has plenty afoot for everyone.

And what better story to unravel than the genesis, the how and why behind our our digital age and how, incredibly, it came to be. It's a story that's gone untold for too long. "Bright Boys" is a first.

Of my online readers, and astonishingly so to me, those from China outnumber nearly everyone else. In China, readers find American technical ingenuity great stuff; they can't seem to get enough of it. They read and listen and then pass it along to friends and colleagues. They ponder the scientific techniques at play in the book; they dream about the act of discovery, and about pulling off something ingenious themselves. The Chinese are a wonderfully appreciative audience truly dedicated to the website. It shows me that "Bright Boys" displays a distinct knack for percolating a bit of wonderment through readers' imaginations around the world. For this writer, that's rich appreciation and applause for five years of hard work bringing the story to life. Amazingly, only online could such an audience have been reached half a world away. And for that superb gift, I have the original bright boys to thank.