Computer: A History of the Information Machine The Sloan Technology Series: Amazon.co.uk: Martin Campbell-Kelly, William Aspray: Books

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The word computer is a misleading name for the ubiquitous machine that sits on our desks. Read the first page

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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An informative account of the history of the computer, 2 Jan 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Computer: A History of the Information Machine (Sloan Technology Series) (Paperback)

Campbell-Kelly and Aspray write a detailed account of the history of the computer, from when a computer was not a machine but rather a person who calculated numbers to the contemporary personal computer.
The book provides a very readable, while factual, history which illustrates the evolution of the computer over the past 200 years and provides many insights along the way. A new historical world of personalities and machines which were critical in the shaping of the computer of the late 20th century are removed from relative obscurity and made accessible to the reader.

Where the book falters a little is in it's examination of the "Personal Computer" (or PC) and it's evolution over the last 25-30 years. The authors seem to go light on some details which are readily available in current media and some of their observations in this area are not as insightful as their earlier ones. The documentary "Triumph of the Nerds" would be a better source of information on this period of computer history. It consists of interviews with the people who were there when it happened, and many of the details Campbell-Kelly and Aspray skip/avoid/omit are in this entertaining documentary. On a personal note - since I grew up with the PC, and watched it make the computer a home appliance like a microwave or VCR, I was a little disappointed with this part of the book.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this title, and consider it a "must read" in the subject area.

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3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Readable, but a little disapointing, 3 Jan 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Computer: A History of the Information Machine (Sloan Technology Series) (Paperback)

This is a thoroughly interesting book, and I would agree that it's a "must read" if you're into computer history. However, I found it contained a dissapointing number of contradictions and inacuracies. The authors also seem to do underplay the English contribution to early computing.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Provides a Vivid and Rich historical account, 16 Mar 2008

By	J. E. Murphy "mistress snowspider" (UK) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Computer: A History of the Information Machine (Sloan Technology) (Paperback)

An excellent account of the history of computing. This book covers everything from America's "love affair" with the mechanical office (typewriters, adding machines. etc.), through Babbage's dream of an "all purpose" Analytical Engine, all the way through the dawn of "Software Engineering", and ending with a brief account of the "World Wide Web".

I used this book as a reference for two Dissertation projects with great results; though I put that down to my resourcefulness and intelligence, rather than claiming this to be a miracle maker! Still, as a brief history of "The Information Machine", this book is both reliable and interesting to read. It documents such machine's as "Colossus" and Konrad Zuse's electronic computer, whilst providing clear explanations as to why they did not directly impact upon the development of the PC (due to the secrecy of such projects).

I was pleased to see an accounting of the "Software Crisis" of the 1960's. I was even more pleased by the rich and vivid explanations provided surrounding the movement from Software development as an "art" to Software development as a "Science"! My only gripe lays in its final analysis of modern day computing and the "World Wide Web". I felt it could have gone into a little more depth; it felt like an add on, rather than a natural extension of the story of the Computer.

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Computer: A History of the Information Machine (The Sloan Technology Series) (Paperback)

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