Dawn in the Valley tells three parallel stories that reflect different aspects of the beginnings, growth and achievements of the Silicon Valley from approximately 1955 to 1970. Although the term didn’t come into popular use until 1971, everything that’s made Silicon Valley what it is today was in full motion well before that time. The surge in technology advances throughout the Bay Area in the late fifties and sixties was already present, even though the term was not.

Chris Shugart’s father was Al Shugart (1930-2006), who made significant contributions to the computer industry throughout his career. Inducted into the Computer History Museum Fellow Awards in 2005, Al is acknowledged as one of the leaders of the disk drive industry, and is best known as the founder and CEO of Seagate Technology.

The Valley, Al Shugart, and the Author all have compelling backstories that are noteworthy to the development and success of the tech industry in the Santa Clara Valley. Well, two of the stories, anyway. But someone had to be there to write a book about it. To fill out this trilogy, Chris has added personal anecdotes in memoir-styled form that provide first-hand looks at life in the Santa Clara Valley of the fifties and sixties.