This paper presents the analysis and modelling of the literature of hypertext based on the ACM Hypertext conference series. This work explores a new paradigm of organising and accessing the vast amount of interrelated information. In the first study, a semantic space is automatically derived and visualised based on all the full papers published in this series (1987 1998). The second study, an author co-citation analysis of nine conference proceedings in the series (1989 1998), maps this substantial literature of hypertext in its entirety and in three evenly distributed sub-periods. Specialties major research fronts in the field of hypertext are identified using a factor analysis. Author co-citation maps are automatically generated as virtual worlds on the WWW to help people explore the literary legacy of hypertext .