Editorial Review

Personal computers didn't appear until the 1970s, but as early as 1941, the first automated,program-controlled, and freely programmable computer was up and running. Read more

Reviews (3)

One of the few imporant biographies of the 20th century.
This book and its author are just amazing. Konrad Zuse is definitly a unique character and so is his story of the invention of the FIRST computer during World War II in Berlin.

Read it!
An excellent source of information for those who mistakenly thought that ENIAC was the first general purpose computer.

Critical for an understanding of the hist. of computers
Zuse explains how and why he build the world's first computer.Easy to understand, but not belittling.This book is essential for anyone interested in the history of CS. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Computer Science (Specific Aspects)    5. History    6. Scientists - General    7. Computing and Information Technology    8. History of science   

Reviews (2)

Digital history - indispensable, yet a good read

Informative and amusing
A remarkable mix of history and "xml", presented with a readable and often amusing text. The "screenshot" examples were very helpful. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer - Internet    2. Computer network resources    3. Computer-assisted instruction    4. History    5. History: World    6. Internet    7. Internet - General    8. Internet - World Wide Web    9. Reference    10. Research    11. History: theory & methods   

Reviews (39)

Soft Power is Only Influence
Joseph Nye is brilliant, but completely off with his theory that there is any such thing as "soft power" beyond mere influence.He makes a case that so-called soft power, which comes from cultural exports and good will, are comparable to hard power (as expressed in terms of the capacity for military or economic coercion) in terms of accomplishing a nation's (specifically, America's) objectives on the world stage.What he's done, though, is merely to elevate influence based on popularity to the level of actionable power, which is totally wrong.Look at the entire history of bilateral relations between any two friendly nations, and you will see that over and over again, accomodation was made when it was in the interest of both states, or when one had the hard power to coerce the other to go along.No nation ever acts in the interest of another just because they like that other country's pop music and blue jeans!

sage advice from a great theorist
Nye has produced a brilliant and concise plea for American humility in The Paradox of American Power.The central thesis of the book is that the ideas and concepts of power are changing and that ultimately, the U.S. is going to have to adjust to these changes if it wishes to remain "the" country in the world.
Nye wants us to handcuff ourselves and sing Coombayah with the rest of the world.
There were many times when I had to mentally and physically shake my head as Nye supports his thesis that America's dominance in this globalized system actually necessitates its interdependence with the rest of the world (read; France and Germany).
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Subjects:  1. 2001-    2. Foreign relations    3. Globalization    4. Government - U.S. Government    5. History & Theory - General    6. International Relations - General    7. International cooperation    8. Philosophy    9. Political Science    10. Politics / Current Events    11. Politics/International Relations    12. Power (Social sciences)    13. Reference    14. Relations    15. United States    16. Impact of computing & IT on society    17. International relations    18. Political Science / International Relations    19. Political science & theory    20. Politics | American Politics | Foreign & Defense Policy    21. USA   

Editorial Review

Computers rely on such things as semiconductors, memory chips, and electricity. But they also rely on a hard-won body of scientific knowledge that has enabled the now-ubiquitous devices to perform complex calculations, multitask, and even play a game of solitaire.Read more

Reviews (10)

formidable marble-eye stare
A very fun read chalk full of and lively interesting personal and biographical information on some of the greatest logicians and mathematicians to have ever lived (e.g. Godel, Hilbert, Boole).
A Fun Read.
An entertaining book that will be enjoyed by anyone interested in mathematical logic or computation theory. Davis weaves history, anecdote, and mathematics into an exciting sketch of the major developments in mathematical logic and their role in the development of the computer. He does a commendable job in explaining the mathematics in an accessible fashion, without distorting it by over-simplification. A good book for people new to the field as well as those already familiar with these stories.

An Excellent Overview
I thought that this book was an excellent overview of the development of logical thought and it's relevance to the modern computer.Davis does a superior job of energizing a subject that is admittedly a little dull.I found myself rereading several of the sections to try to better understand some of the math involved, but overall, I think Davis found a nice balance between the complexity of the math and the history of logic.My one serious criticism of the book is that I found the chronology to be tough to follow, and I often found myself referring back to previous chapters to try and get a better sense of when events were happening.It is natural to assume that a book like this is presented in chronological fashion.The Universal Computer generally is presented that way, but there are some events that happen more or less simultaneously.This is important to the overview of the history of the field.I think the book could actually use a graphical timeline with the birth dates of the mathematicians and the significant events (i.e. 1902 - Russell's letter to Frege, etc.) that are involved.Other than that, the book is informative and enjoyable for those interested in the origins of the modern computer. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Science    2. Computer Science (General)    3. Computers    4. Computers - General Information    5. Discrete Mathematics    6. Electronic digital computers    7. General    8. History    9. Mathematics    10. Science/Mathematics    11. History of science   

Reviews (25)

Almost great
The book itself is good, but the binding fell apart not to long after purchasing it (and i'm not rough with my books at all).To pay (...) dollers for a book it seems as though you should at least get a decent binding!

Memories, So Many Memories!
This book will take you back.I flicked through this book and the memories kept flooding back.I had completely forgotten about a lot of these games until seeing their pictures in this book.I remember being a little kid in the 80's and playing Paperboy, Pac Man, Where in the World is Carmen San Diego, Frogger, Leisure Suit Larry, California Games, Railroad Tycoon, Maniac Mansion, Wings and It Came from the Desert.I had a Commodore Amiga 500. Other kids had Commodore 64's or the Atari and all those games are in this book too Good for the coffee table, not for the true game fan
The Bottom Line: This is a nice coffee table book to spark some discussion, but true gaming fans and players will be dissapointed with this version of gaming history.Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Books: General    2. Computer games    3. Computers    4. Entertainment & Games - General    5. Games / Gamebooks / Crosswords    6. General    7. History    8. Interactive & Multimedia    9. Video & Electronic - General    10. Video games    11. History of specific subjects   

Reviews (4)

When a browser was a person
Once, before 1992, a browser was a person who browsed a set of books. But now it more commonly refers to a computer program used to browse the Web. No doubt, since you are reading this in the software program, to you the latter meaning is more common. Well, Grier takes us back to days when a computer was a person who did many math calculations. Often by hand.
A Wonderful Book
A wonderful book, filled with fascinating facts about important people and activities that most of
It is a shame that these people are being forgotten
Once upon a time, equations that could not be solved analytically were solved numerically by teams of people who were, in many cases, capable of only rudimentary mathematics. More gifted mathematicians broke complex problems into algorithmic steps small enough to be worked by hand, and they would then be tackled by teams of "computers". This was normal for over 250 years, until they were replaced by digital computers in the mid-20th century.
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Subjects:  1. Calculus    2. General    3. History    4. Mathematics    5. Mental calculators    6. Science    7. Science/Mathematics    8. History of Science and Medicine, Philosophy of Science    9. History of engineering & technology    10. History of science    11. Impact of computing & IT on society    12. Popular science    13. Science / History   

Subjects:  1. Criticism, Textual    2. Data processing    3. Editing    4. Electronic Publishing    5. English literature    6. English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh    7. General    8. History - General History    9. Literary Criticism    10. Manuscripts, English    11. Publishing    12. Semiotics & Theory    13. Applications of Computing    14. Literary studies: general    15. Poetry / General    16. Publishing industry   

Editorial Review

Will we build intelligent robots from the brain down, or from the legs up? Rodney A. Brooks, the controversial director of MIT's Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, is betting on the latter--and the smart money's following him. Read more

Reviews (5)

Brooks Collection -- History and then?
This book is a collection of the "best" / most cited Brooks papers. Basically it covers what is considered the core of papers that got behaviour based robotics rolling. Almost all papers have appeared as journal papers earlier and this is merely a convenient collection of these. Good thought-provoking material
While the title is a bit misleading (this is not a history per se, so much as a collection of papers of historical interest), this book contains a wealth of good material for those researching behavior-based robotics. As the book is a collection of Brooks' papers on the subject, it gives good insights into his approach -- although it does include a significant amount of redundant text (as you'd expect, many of the papers share "boilerplate" treatments of some subject matter). Interesting Perspective
This book presents a series of papers (technical and philosophical) on anapproach to AI (specifically, robotics), that basically denies the need forthe existence of a 'cognition' system.I like this approach because ofit's simplicity, and it's philosophical implications.To the reader thatwas expecting a book on the history of AI: Yes, the title could be readlike that, but I think the intent was to say "This is the history of anew way of looking at things", not "This is the early history ofthe entire field of AI" ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Artificial Intelligence    2. Artificial Intelligence - General    3. Automation    4. Computers - General Information    5. Engineering - Mechanical    6. Expert Systems    7. Robotics    8. Science/Mathematics    9. Technology    10. Cognitive theory    11. Computers / Artificial Intelligence    12. History of specific subjects   

Subjects:  1. Biological systems    2. Computer simulation    3. Ecology    4. Life Sciences - Biology - General    5. Life Sciences - Ecology    6. Mathematical models    7. Nature    8. Nature/Ecology    9. Science    10. Applied ecology    11. NATURAL HISTORY, COUNTRY LIFE & PETS    12. Science / Biology   

Editorial Review

Steven Levy's classic book explains why the misuse of the word "hackers" to describe computer criminals does a terrible disservice to many important shapers of the digital revolution. Levy follows members of an MIT model railroad club--a group of brilliant budding electrical engineers and computer innovators--from the late 1950s to the mid-1980s. These eccentric characters used the term "hack" to describe a clever way of improving the electronic system that ran their massive railroad. And as they started designing clever ways to improve computer systems, "hack" moved over with them. These maverick characters were often fanatics who did not always restrict themselves to the letter of the law and who devoted themselves to what became known as "The Hacker Ethic." The book traces the history of hackers, from finagling access to clunky computer-card-punching machines to uncovering the inner secrets of what would become the Internet. This story of brilliant, eccentric, flawed, and often funny people devoted to their dream of a better world will appeal to a wide audience. ... Read more

Reviews (70)

I'm not very interested in computer innards, but...
I love books ABOUT computers! My husband is the computer guru while I just like what I can do on computers, from putting together web pages to making podcasts. He bought this book originally when it came out and left it on the table. I picked it up and started reading, and couldn't stop. I've read it at least 10 times, and I'm reading it again now. It's a fascinating book and very readable (humorous too) and I don't think a person necessarily has to be interested in computers to enjoy the stories and style of writing. I really liked the people in the book, and re-reading it is like visiting with old friends. True, I've never met them and never will, but it's like a well-read and beloved novel in that way, only better because these people lived and did great (or even just interesting) things.
Good, But with Minor Flaws
This is a good book on the early (good guy) hackers primarily from the MIT point of view. However, to someone in the know, it is very detracting that may extremely well known acronyms, such as TECO (Text Editor and COrector) are written phonetically in the book, i.e., totally and consistently wrong. Like any other book this size, it also has some omissions and minor error. But overall it does a good job of giving the flavor of the times. (Note: I am mentioned twice in passing in the book.)

Escape to another time and place
These guys aren't the hackers that create viruses that damage your computer hard drive.
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Subjects:  1. Computer Industry    2. Computer hackers    3. Computer programming    4. Computers - General Information    5. General    6. History    7. Science/Mathematics    8. Technology    9. Computer fraud & hacking    10. Data security & data encryption    11. Fiction / Suspense    12. True crime   

Reviews (6)

Definitive guide to granular synthesis
Many people today seem to be obsessed with recreating 'classic' sounds, whether it's Minimoogs, TB303s or even traditional orchestral instruments. So it's refreshing to find that there are still people out there intent on pushing the boundaries of synthesis further and creating new sounds. Curtis Roads has done more than most in this field, and this book on granular synthesis that he has authored is a fairly comprehensive guide to the subject.
droppin' science
This book will change how you make music and listen to music. There is no turning back.

Microsound
A really excellent book.It is highly scholarly, yet easy to understand.He articulates concepts I have thought about for years, but was never able to express adequately.Roads has a talent for organizing very complex material within a perspective-oriented framework making the macro concept very easy to grasp.
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Subjects:  1. Acoustics & Sound    2. Electronic & Computer    3. Genres & Styles - Electronic    4. History & Criticism - General    5. Instruction & Study - Theory    6. Music    7. Music/Songbooks    8. Science/Mathematics    9. Technology    10. Audio processing: music & sound effects    11. Composition & orchestration    12. Music / Electronic & Computer   

Reviews (1)

Very good if you need no slack
I've been working my way through McLarty's book off and on for several months now.It is a tremendously clear and well-organized book, and you can learn a lot from it. HOWEVER: it is a "math book" in the strictest sense of the word. Exposition is kept to a bare minimum, and you have to actually work your way through the material (AND the exercises, since many of the definitions are given in them) in order to learn anything. He could have easier doubled or tripled the amount of exposition and still have produced a lean, mean textbook. This is a really good book if you need to learn category theory and you already know why. The only extensive example is a short chapter on group theory. After reading his article on category theory in the Routledge encyclopedia of philosophy I expected rather more in the way of theorizing. Be that as it may: everything you need to know about categories and toposes is in here, and nothing else. The best math book I've read in a long time. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Categories (Mathematics)    2. Computer Science    3. History & Surveys - General    4. Homology Theory    5. Logic    6. Mathematical And Symbolic Logic    7. Mathematics    8. Philosophy    9. Science/Mathematics    10. Toposes    11. Category theory    12. Mathematical logic    13. Mathematics / Logic    14. Mathematics | Logic   

Reviews (1)

Pretexts, Motives and The Valid Human Life
Pursell's acknowledged primary debt to Leo (The Machine in the Garden) Marx says a lot about his perspective in this nicely paced, often fascinating work of U.S. social history.Read more

Subjects:  1. General    2. History    3. History: American    4. Industrial revolution    5. Science    6. Social aspects    7. Technology    8. United States    9. United States - General    10. American history: from c 1900 -    11. Impact of computing & IT on society    12. Literary Criticism & Collections / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh    13. Social history    14. Technology: General Issues    15. USA   

Reviews (12)

Well thought, poorly written
The quest for the limits of deduction is a well-precedented and exciting topic, and is worth of deep study.If this is your opinion, then this book is worth glancing at.Certainly Chaitin's unique approach to tackling the notion of incompleteness cuts to the core of the matter, and is free from the beautiful self-referential chains that bind the reader from a clear understanding of Godel's first and second incompleteness theorems.
Try to get around the author's annoying tendencies
This book has some very interesting mathematical and philosophical tidbits, and is well worth a read if you are interested in epistemology, the foundations of mathematics, or information theory. I find the author to have some rather annoying tendencies, such as his over-use of exclamation points (!) and his tendency to over-state what conclusions his arguments actually support.For example, the author argues that mathematics should not be viewed as primarily the work of constructing formal axiomatic systems.But while he argues convincingly that there are inherent limits to what can be proved by any formal axiomatic system, this does not imply that mathematics is not still primarily the work of constructing such systems (and it's not clear what mathematics would be other than the construction of such systems).In fact, the author's fascination with the algorithmic perspective suggests that he mainly practices mathematics from the perspective of algorithms and formal systems.But aside from these annoying tendencies, this book still presents a fascinating discussion of our mathematical understanding of what can and cannot be achieved by the axiomatic method.

Math IS sexy...(ladies take note)
I found a book of this style to be refreshing. What struck me the most, and what I liked the most about the book, was the enthusiasm in Chaitin's tone and delivery--it was contagious. As someone who's slogged through a math graduate program, I have all too often been subject to dreadfully dry math texts where the author seems to delight in wringing every last drop of intuition (and emotion) out of an explaination, to leave a long string of theorems with very short proofs (Chaitin addresses this phenomenon early in his book). His writing produces a math related book that can serve to motivate(!)--what an idea. He also rolls back the curtain a little bit on the intuitive process and openly discusses how mathematical ideas are born and evolve into common acceptance. Chaitin is not afraid to try something new here and, for my part, succeeds.
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Subjects:  1. Computational complexity    2. History    3. History & Philosophy    4. Machine theory    5. Mathematics    6. Science/Mathematics    7. Stochastic Processes    8. Mathematics / History   

Reviews (6)

what about all the failed pranks?
Here is an informal romp through decades of MIT pranks. Reflecting well on the ingenuity and craziness of the undergrads who devoted so much time and sweat to making these happen. Most of the pranks revolve around some high tech gimmick. As you follow the narrative, you might admire the unorthodox nature to which technology has been applied.
^_^
Ok, originally I was trying to buy a book on Asian women in the work force for my Anthropology class. The frist part of the name of this book is the same as the other book so I quickly bought it before I finished reading the rest of the title, so it is all my fault for getting the wrong book. Either way, this book is alot better and more enertaining. Best mistake I ever made ^_^. The book was mailed to my house fast and in great condition.

Great book, but with a caveat.
This is a terrific, fairly comprehensive book of the highlights from MIT's long tradition of pranks. However, if you have already read Journal of the Institute of Hacks, Tomfoolery, and Pranks, you'll find you've read most of this before, and in better detail, with better-reproduced photographs (in my opinion.) The good thing about Nightwork is that this is includes hacks from more recent years than the other book.
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Subjects:  1. Cambridge    2. College students    3. College wit and humor    4. Computer Center Management    5. Education    6. Education / Teaching    7. General    8. Higher    9. History    10. History Of Technology    11. Humor    12. Management Information Systems    13. Massachusetts    14. Massachusetts Institute of Tec    15. Student activities    16. Technology    17. Computer fraud & hacking    18. Humour   

Reviews (1)

An extensive and informatively accessible tour
Computer Graphics And Animation: History, Careers, Expert Advice by computer expert and academician Garth Gardner is an extensive and informatively accessible tour through a variety of different artistic careers related to computers that are available for an aspiring computer graphics experts to pursue. Of special interest is the advice on becoming a CG Artist drawn from interviews with ground breaking experts from such industry powerhouses as Rhythm & Hues, Pixar, and Industrial Light & Magic. From the history of computer animation to practical advice on training and education for this competitive field, Computer Graphics And Animation is an excellent survey and a highly recommended primer for anyone interested in learning more about this exciting vocation. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Animation    2. Computer Bks - Desktop Publishing    3. Computer Graphics - General    4. Computers - Desktop Publishing    5. Gardening/Plants    6. History   

Reviews (4)

persian review
For persian visitors, there is a persian review that has been published in Mehr weekly too, in my blog : www.yousefi.persianblog.com

How to really play God
No one disputes that the growing sophistication of computing technology has altered the human condition. With the current world population in excess of five billion and the U.S. economy in excess of six trillion dollars annually, computers are essential to the management of life. However, few people ever think about how much this has altered the perception of existence. Philosopher Michael Heim is one such person. The Metaphysics of Virtual Reality
If you search through the internet on the definition of VR, you'll hit on just about anything having to do with computers.Why?Heim attempts to answer this question with a wonderful explanation of what the term hasmeant, means now, and may mean in both the near and far future.He reviewsthe impact products have had on our daily lives, which we take for grantedtoday, and studies what past philosophers feared--have these fears become areality?The book defines our relationship to computers now, and what ourexpectations are.It's a fun little book to read.It'll make you stop andthink about our real world when your done. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computers - General Information    2. History    3. History: American    4. Metaphysics    5. Philosophy & Social Aspects    6. United States - 19th Century    7. Virtual Reality    8. Computers / Virtual Reality    9. Cybernetics & systems theory    10. Impact of computing & IT on society    11. Philosophy | Metaphysics    12. USA   

Reviews (18)

a great resource
This book has information on almost every electronic instrument and related piece of equipment in the history of electronic music. It is a perfect book for EM enthusiasts or even those who know a little about vintage synth history and want to learn more, ... a real find. Well researched.

Enlightening in a number of ways
Published by ArtistPro Press, this is unquestionably a scholarly and serious work... yet at times it reads almost like a novel. Kudos to Kettlewell for making this material educational, accessible and enjoyable in all the right ways. Magnificent History!
In this scholarly work , Kettlewell discusses the work of composers, inventors and performers who shifted the boundaries of music in regard to sound source, notation, time, space, and the roles of the composer, performer and audience. The author seeks to identify and explain a whole body of musical work that existed outside the classical tradition and the avant-garde orthodoxies that flowed from it. Many rare photographsenrich the text and the book concludes with a selected source bibliography, an exhaustive list of related websites, and a bibliography of publications since 1934. Dr. Joel Paradiso, the Director of the MIT MediaLab in Cambridge, Massachusettshas contributed an interesting foreword to this edition. The tome is a detailed account of a radical musical direction that has borne great fruit in the years since it was first analysed in this thorough and scholarly work. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Genres & Styles - Electronic    2. History & Criticism - General    3. Music    4. Music/Songbooks    5. Songbooks - General    6. Computers / General    7. Electronic musical instruments    8. Music / Reference   

Reviews (10)

Pricey but well worth it
This book is the first one I read about the history on Unix and I really appreciate the author's for the taking the time trying to preserve the history about Unix before it is lost. The book starts with a very early mention of computers, from 1870s and then ends with around the year 1994. Of course keep in mind that this is a Unix history and not Linux. And because it is published in 1994 do not expect it to tell you the history of Unix of the past decade. The book, however, cover the Unix history from 1969 till 1994 extensively.
Expensive short chronology; most material is availble online
This is an expensive short book with mainly trivial chronological information, 90% of which are freely available on the Internet. As for the h