The History of the Future : Oculus, Facebook, and the Revolution That Swept Virtual Reality

Long regarded as a mix of science fiction and lore, virtual reality was finding obscure footing in enthusiastic web forums, Science laboratories and hushed military experiments. At the helm of this futuristic endeavour was an unlikely hero—young entrepreneur Palmer luckey. With an intense interest in virtual reality and disappointment in the VR options that existed, Palmer went from a rebellious teenager living alone in a camper trailer to the developer of impressive prototypes to the founder of Oculus VR. With the help of a video game legend, a serial entrepreneur and many other colourful characters, luckey’s scrappy start-up Kickstarter a revolution and sets out to bring VR to the masses. As with most underdog stories, things didn’t quite go according to plan. The history of the future is the unbelievable story of the ultimate entrepreneurial journey: a tale of battles won and lost, lessons learned and never ending twists and turns—including an unlikely multi-billion-dollar acquisition by Facebook Mark Zuckerberg, which shakes up the landscape in Silicon Valley and gives Oculus the chance to forever change our reality. Drawing on over a hundred interviews with the key players driving this revolution, the history of the future weaves together a rich, cinematic narrative that captures the breakthroughs, breakdowns and human drama of trying to change the world.