What It Was Like To Hang With Tech's Biggest Stars During The Golden Days Of Silicon Valley

Excerpted from the book Fearless Genius: The Digital Revolution in Silicon Valley 1985-2000 by Doug Menuez, Atria Books. Foreword by Elliott Erwitt, Introduction by Kurt Andersen

Adobe was another favorite project of Menuez's. He was there when Photoshop was released in 1990.

"As digital technology grew more powerful, Silicon Valley became an expected crossroads of culture. Artists arrived from all over the world, eager to experiment," he writes in "Fearless Genius."

He continues: "Here, painter David Hockney, holding one of his beloved dachshunds, attends Russell Brown's first Adobe Photoshop Invitational, where he learned how to use the first release version of Photoshop, happily smoking in the computer room and playing with his dogs on breaks."

Excerpted from the book Fearless Genius: The Digital Revolution in Silicon Valley 1985-2000 by Doug Menuez, Atria Books. Foreword by Elliott Erwitt, Introduction by Kurt Andersen.

Excerpted from the book Fearless Genius: The Digital Revolution in Silicon Valley 1985-2000 by Doug Menuez, Atria Books. Foreword by Elliott Erwitt, Introduction by Kurt Andersen.

"He was wearing this shirt that said 'Amazon' on it. My wife is Brazilian, so she said, 'Let's go talk to him,'" Menuez said to Business Insider. "He gave us the whole pitch for Amazon, and it was amazing. Some things you hear and you just know it's going to work."

Excerpted from the book Fearless Genius: The Digital Revolution in Silicon Valley 1985-2000 by Doug Menuez, Atria Books. Foreword by Elliott Erwitt, Introduction by Kurt Andersen.

Menuez captured Marc Andreessen and his publicist during a phone interview at the Netscape offices.

"[He] was exhausted and riding a monstrous wave of digital global change he helped precipitate," Menuez writes in the photo's caption. "The press had been pleading for interviews with him ever since the Netscape Navigator browser was released, making internet access easy and fast for the masses."

Excerpted from the book Fearless Genius: The Digital Revolution in Silicon Valley 1985-2000 by Doug Menuez, Atria Books. Foreword by Elliott Erwitt, Introduction by Kurt Andersen

Menuez had the opportunity to meet many notable figures, but he says it was Jobs who had the biggest impact on his life.

"Steve was the most inspiring person I ever met. As a photojournalist, I like to hide behind my lens and capture other people's moments," Menuez said. "He forced me to confront my own motivations, who I was. I wasn't trying to be his friend, but just being in the room was amazing."

Excerpted from the book Fearless Genius: The Digital Revolution in Silicon Valley 1985-2000 by Doug Menuez, Atria Books. Foreword by Elliott Erwitt, Introduction by Kurt Andersen.

Some may wonder why the photos are just being published now, two decades after they were taken.

After Menuez had finished his work with NeXT, Jobs decided Life magazine just wasn't cool anymore. Menuez put the photos away in boxes and completely forgot about them.

"By 2000, I had burned out on the topic. There had been this crazy gold rush, and it all just burst," Menuez said.

Stanford later acquired his archives, and Menuez started going back through the notes to help with the scanning process.

Those scans would eventually become "Fearless Genius," which Menuez says is an imperfect history of the Valley at a pivotal time. He hopes to turn the project into a full digital experience, with a documentary, web series, educational program, and conference hopefully on the way.

"I really want this book to reach young entrepreneurs to show how hard it was. The sacrifice isn't really understood," he said. "There are many lessons to be learned there."

Disclosure: Jeff Bezos is an investor in Business Insider through his personal investment company Bezos Expeditions.