''The Whole Earth Software Catalog'' and ''The Whole Earth Software Review'' (1984–1985) were two publications produced by Stewart Brand's '' Point Foundation'' as an extension of '' The

Whole Earth Catalog The ''Whole Earth Catalog'' (WEC) was an American counterculture magazine and product catalog published by Stewart Brand several times a year between 1968 and 1972, and occasionally thereafter, until 1998. The magazine featured essays and articl ...

''.

Overview

Fred Turner discusses the production and eventual demise of both the ''Catalog and Review'' in ''From Counterculture to Cyberculture: Stewart Brand, the Whole Earth Network, and the Rise of Digital Utopianism.'' Turner notes that in 1983, ''The Whole Earth Software Catalog'' was proposed by John Brockman as a magazine which "would do for computing what the original 'Whole Earth Catalog''had done for the counterculture: identify and recommend the best ''tools'' as they emerged." Brand announced the first publication of the quarterly ''Whole Earth Software Review'' at the SoftCon trade show at the

Louisiana Superdome The Caesars Superdome, commonly known as the Superdome (formerly known as Mercedes-Benz Superdome), is a multi-purpose stadium located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the home stadium of the New Orleans Saints ...

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

in March 1984. While both were published as an extension of ''Whole Earth,'' the ''Catalog'' was a large glossy book sponsored by Doubleday and published in

Sausalito Sausalito (Spanish for "small willow grove") is a city in Marin County, California, United States, located southeast of Marin City, south-southeast of San Rafael, and about north of San Francisco from the Golden Gate Bridge. Sausalito's ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

while the ''Review'' was a small periodical published in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

. The ''Catalog'' and ''Review'' were notable for being "devoid of any industry advertising" and for being "accessible and user friendly - written in an glib, conversational style that takes most of the bugs out of microprocessing."Bob Sylva, SCENE. ''

Sacramento Bee ''The Sacramento Bee'' is a daily newspaper published in Sacramento, California, in the United States. Since its foundation in 1857, ''The Bee'' has become the largest newspaper in Sacramento, the fifth largest newspaper in California, and the 2 ...

'', November 13, 1984, p. CO1 ''The Whole Earth Software Catalog and Review'' were both business failures, however. The Catalog was only published twice and ''The Whole Earth Software Review'' three times.Fred Turner. ''From Counterculture to Cyberculture'', (Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 2006): 130. At the same time, another Brand publication, ''

CoEvolution Quarterly ''CoEvolution Quarterly'' (1974–1985) was a journal descended from Stewart Brand's ''Whole Earth Catalog''. Stewart Brand founded the ''CoEvolution Quarterly'' in 1974 using proceeds from the ''Whole Earth Catalog.'' It evolved out of the o ...

'' evolved out of the original ''Whole Earth Supplement'' in 1974. In 1985, Brand merged ''CoEvolution Quarterly'' with ''The Whole Earth Software Review'' to create the ''Whole Earth Review.'' This is also indicated in the issues themselves. Fall 1984, Issue No. 43 is titled ''The Last CoEvolution Quarterly.''The cover also states, "Next issue is 'Whole Earth Review': livelier snake, new skin." In January 1985, Issue No. 44 was titled ''Whole Earth Review: Tools and Ideas for the Computer Age.'' The cover also reads "The continuation of ''CoEvolution Quarterly'' and ''Whole Earth Software Review''." In an article titled "Whole Earth Software Catalog Version 1.1," Stewart Brand states that there are three intended audiences for the new ''Whole Earth Review'': a) the audience of ''The Whole Earth Software Catalog'', b) the audience of ''The Whole Earth Software Review'' and c) the audience of ''

''. Stewart Brand. "Whole Earth Software Catalog Version 1.1", ''Whole Earth Review, No. 44 (Sausalito, CA January 1985): 74.

Bibliography

''Whole Earth Software Review'' *Spring 1984, Issue 1 *Summer 1984, Issue 2 *Fall 1984, Issue 3Official website for ''Whole Earth Catalog''
/ref> ''Whole Earth Software Catalog'' *''Whole Earth Software Catalog.'' Spring 1984 by Point. *''Whole Earth Software Catalog for 1986 (2.0 edition)''. 1984, 1985 by Point (Winter 1986).

Notes

References

*Elmer-DeWitt, Philip.

"

TIME Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...

, Mar. 05, 1984. *Lehmann- Haupt, Christopher.
Books of the Times: Whole Earth Software Catalog
'' ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

,'' October 3, 1984. *Sylva, Bob. SCENE. ''

'', November 13, 1984, p. CO1 * Turner, Fred

External links

BOOKS OF THE TIMES:'' Whole Earth Software Catalog''
{{Whole Earth Defunct magazines published in the United States Whole Earth Catalog Quarterly magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 1984 Magazines disestablished in 1985