Journalist Evans’s first book is an invigorating history of female coders, engineers, entrepreneurs, and visionaries who helped create and shape the internet, and whose contributions, she argues, are too often overlooked. The book’s subjects stretch back to Ada Lovelace, Lord Byron’s daughter and a collaborator with Charles Babbage on his analytical engine. Evans makes astute connections to draw her subjects into a narrative about the democratization of technology. If the spirit of the internet is collaborative, Evans’s women embody that spirit entirely—which is no surprise, since, as Evans dutifully shows, they had a huge role in inventing it.

Why you should read it: This incredible combination of research, narrative, and political commentary sheds light on the nearly forgotten yet essential contributions of women in STEM throughout history. If you've struggled to find an exciting way to engage with tech-history, look no further than Evans' Broad Band.