Thomas Dolby

It is 1913, and the plutocrats of the New York Yacht Club have amassed more power and wealth than the US Treasury itself. Davey and Jacob Haskell, brothers from a poor lobster fishing community in Maine, have a single shot at greatness when they try out for the sailing crew of a NYYC millionaire's luxury racing yacht. Honor, betrayal, and the cruelty of an egomaniacal skipper put the brothers' family loyalties to the test as they set out to expose a dark secret covered up for years in the corridors of the New York Yacht Club. "Dolby takes us behind the scenes as an intense competition evolves into a high stakes grudge match. The quest for victory is an emotional roller coaster ride. Once you start reading you won't want to stop." -Gary Jobson, America's Cup Hall of Fame Inductee "A ripping yarn ... full of mysteries, passion, class struggle, and ruthless competitive spirit. Prevailing Wind is an absolute blast " -J. J. Abrams, Filmmaker

It is 1913, and the plutocrats of the New York Yacht Club have amassed more power and wealth than the US Treasury itself. Davey and Jacob Haskell, brothers from a poor lobster fishing community in Maine, have a single shot at greatness when they try out for the sailing crew of a NYYC millionaire's luxury racing yacht. Honor, betrayal, and the cruelty of an egomaniacal skipper put the brothers' family loyalties to the test as they set out to expose a dark secret covered up for years in the corridors of the New York Yacht Club. "Dolby takes us behind the scenes as an intense competition evolves into a high stakes grudge match. The quest for victory is an emotional roller coaster ride. Once you start reading you won't want to stop." -Gary Jobson, America's Cup Hall of Fame Inductee "A ripping yarn ... full of mysteries, passion, class struggle, and ruthless competitive spirit. Prevailing Wind is an absolute blast " -J. J. Abrams, Filmmaker

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Thomas Dolby is a five-time Grammy nominee, whose 'She Blinded Me With Science' reached number 5 on the US Billboard charts in 1982, appeared in Breaking Bad, and was even covered by The Muppets... Based on his meticulous notes and journals, The Speed of Sound chronicles Dolby's life in the music business during the eighties; in Silicon Valley through the nineties, and at the forefront of the mobile phone revolution around the turn of the millennium - it was Dolby who created the synthesizer installed today on most mobile phones. With humour and a considerable panache for storytelling, The Speed of Sound is a revealing look behind the curtain of the music industry, as well as a unique history of technology over the past thirty years. From sipping Chablis with Bill Gates to visiting Michael Jackson at his mansion or viewing the Web for the first time on Netscape founder Jim Clark's laptop, this is both the view from the ultimate insider and also that of a technology pioneer whose groundbreaking ideas have helped shape the way we live today.

The remarkable story of rising to the top of the music charts, a second act as a tech pioneer, and the sustaining power of creativity and art. Thomas Dolby's hit songs "She Blinded Me with Science" and "Hyperactive " catapulted him to international fame in the early 80's. A pioneer of New Wave and Electronica, Thomas combined a love for invention with a passion for music, and the result was a new sound that defined an era of revolutionary music. But as record company politics overshadow the joy of performing, Thomas finds a surprising second act. Starting out in a rat-infested London bedsit, a teenage Thomas Dolby stacks boxes by day at the grocery and tinkers with a homemade synthesizer at night while catching the Police at a local dive bar, swinging by the pub to see the unknown Elvis Costello and starting the weekend with a Clash show at a small night club. London on the eve of the 1980s is a hotbed for music and culture, and a new sound is beginning to take shape, merging technology with the musical energy of punk rock. Thomas plays keyboards in other bands' shows, and with a bit of luck finds his own style, quickly establishing himself on the scene and recording break out hits that take radio, MTV and dance clubs by storm. The world is now his oyster, and sold out arenas, world tours, even a friendship with Michael Jackson become the fabric of his life. But as the record industry flounders and disillusionment sets in, Thomas turns his attention to Hollywood. Scoring films and computer games eventually leads him to Silicon Valley and a software startup that turns up the volume on the digital music revolution. His company barely survives the dotcom bubble but finally even the mavericks at Apple, Microsoft, Netscape and Nokia see the light. By 2005, two-thirds of the world's mobile phones embed his Beatnik software. Life at the zenith of a tech empire proves to be just as full of big personalities, battling egos and roller-coaster success as his days spent at the top of the charts. THE SPEED OF SOUND is the story of an extraordinary man living an extraordinary life, a single-handed quest to make peace between art and the digital world.