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Title: Computer: A History of the Information Machine (The Sloan Technology Series) by Martin Campbell-Kelly, William Aspray ISBN: 0-465-02990-6 Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Pub. Date: 01 May, 1997 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $22.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.33 (9 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: An Excellent Read
Comment: There are countless books covering the PC revolution from about the 1970's and onwards, but not very many that carefully cover the saga of the 1800's and onward! This book does an excellent job at capturing what happened in the realm of computing from Babbage's work all the way up to what began the downfall of the mainframe to the minis.
Rating: 4
Summary: Rich but dry
Comment: As a kid, I read this book over and over, soaking up the volumes of information. The reading is pretty dry, but the story covered is fascinating. Perhaps one thing that made it interesting was reading about the person who bought it for me - my grandfather. He was pleased with how he had been interviewed and, of course, thought they could have said more about his area of study!
Rating: 5
Summary: The Companies and Economics behind the PC
Comment: I recently finished this book and "Engines of the Mind : The Evolution of the Computer from Mainframes to Microprocessors" by Joel N. Shurkin. Both are attempts at writing a detailed history of the development of the computer and the events surrounding it, and I must admit that I found "Computer" much more entertaining than Shurkin's text.
The difference between the two books is very slight, however, it is significant. "Computer" walks us through the work of Charles Babbage and carries us through the backrooms of large businesses at the turn of the 19th century. The authors discuss the work and lives of the people that were the first 'computers' working all day long to finish calculations that were used in business, and then for the calculation of artillery tables in the world wars. It was the replacement of these workers and their omissive errors and necessarily slow speed and development time that drove the development of the huge mainframes that would be developed by the military. The authors do a great job of walking through the history of the early computer companies, especially Hollerith's Tabulating Machine Co., now IBM, and National Cash Register. The role that these two companies played in increasing the public's reliance and trust in machines was a key enabler of the computer revolution. The authors then take us through to modern times and we follow the ultra-competitive computer industry through wave after wave of consolidation and rapid technological innovation. This book also shows us a slight glimpse of the business forces behind the development of the transistor, and how this invention would wind up changing the world.
I could not have enjoyed this book more. Of the two, it definitely did the best job of focusing on the industry and economic changes that have led us to the modern computer age. The annecdotes and writing style of the authors is well-suited to the material and I very highly recommend this book. I also recommend the other book as well - I believe that if read together (with some time to digest in between them) they do a great job of painting the picture of a fascinating development of one of the most important technological changes in the history of man.
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Title: A History of Modern Computing : Second Edition (History of Computing) by Paul E. Ceruzzi ISBN: 0262532034 Publisher: The MIT Press Pub. Date: 01 May, 2003 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
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Title: From Airline Reservations to Sonic the Hedgehog : A History of the Software Industry (History of Computing) by Martin Campbell-Kelly ISBN: 0262033038 Publisher: The MIT Press Pub. Date: 01 March, 2003 List Price(USD): $42.50 |
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Title: The Universal History of Computing: From the Abacus to the Quantum Computer by Georges Ifrah, Georges Ifrah ISBN: 0471441473 Publisher: Wiley Pub. Date: 15 January, 2002 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: A History of Computing Technology, 2nd Edition by Michael R. Williams ISBN: 0818677392 Publisher: Wiley-IEEE Computer Society Pr Pub. Date: 27 March, 1997 List Price(USD): $59.95 |
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Title: ENIAC: The Triumphs and Tragedies of the World's First Computer by Scott McCartney ISBN: 0802713483 Publisher: Walker & Company List Price(USD): $23.00 |
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