Computer: A History Of The Information Machine (Sloan Technology Series) [Paperback]

William Aspray (Author), Martin Campbell-kelly (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0465029906 | ISBN-13: 978-0465029907 | Publication Date: June 11, 1997

Blending strong narrative history and a fascinating look at the interface of business and technology, Computer: A History of the Information Machine traces the dramatic story of the invention of the computer. More than just the tale of a tool created by scientists to crunch numbers, this book suggests a richer story behind the computer’s creation, one that shows how business and government were the first to explore the unlimited potential of the machine as an information processor. Not surprisingly, at the heart of the business story is IBM. A story of old-fashioned entreprenuership in symbiotic relationship with scientific know-how, it begins way back when ”computers” were people who did the computational work of scientists, and Charles Babbage attempted in vain to mechanize the process. But it also shows how entrepreneurs like Herman Hollerith, seeing a business opportunity in a machine that could mechanically tabulate the U.S. census, created a punched-card tabulator that became the technology that created IBM.The authors show how ENIAC, the first fully electronic computer, emerged out of the wartime need of the military for computers that performed at lightning speed and did not need human intervention at any stage of the process. Most interesting is the story of how the computer began to reshape broad segments of our society when the PC enabled new modes of computing that liberated people from dependence on room-sized, enormously expensive mainframe computers. Filled with lively insights—many about the world of computing in the 1990s, such as the strategy behind Microsoft Windows—as well as a discussion of the rise and creation of the World Wide Web, here is a book no one who owns or uses a computer will want to miss.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

This history of the computer explores the roots of the industry's phenomenal development, tracing not only the development of the machine itself--beginning with Charles Babbage's well-known 1883 mechanical prototype--but also chronicling the effects of manufacturing and sales innovations by such companies as Remington and National Cash Register that made the boom possible. The authors recount the transition from slow mechanical computers to the vacuum-tubed electronic computers, ENIAC and EDVAC, pioneered by a team led by mathematician John von Neumann during World War II. Later innovations made the computer a mass-market item, and now, the authors suggest, freedom of access to the technology is constrained only by the imperative of computer companies to make money. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Computer whizzes and novices alike will find a wealth of new information and insights in this colorful, engrossing history of computers. The authors trace an unbroken line from the typewriters, adding and record-keeping machines of 1890s America to today's business-oriented computers. They tell how English mathematician Charles Babbage's failed dream of building his "Analytical Engine," a full-scale calculator, in the 1830s was realized a century later when IBM built the first fully automatic computing machine at Harvard University. Next came ENIAC, a behemoth with 18,000 vacuum tubes, and its successor, EDVAC, both developed at the University of Pennsylvania. EDVAC, built under the tutelage of cybernetics pioneer John von Neumann, became the blueprint for the modern electronic computer. The book closes with a selective look at innovations such as real-time systems, e-mail, programming languages, software, time-sharing computers and the World Wide Web. Campbell-Kelly is a lecturer in computer science in England; Aspray is executive director of the Computing Research Association in Washington, D.C.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books (June 11, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0465029906
• ISBN-13: 978-0465029907
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,107,300 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Companies and Economics behind the PC, January 2, 2001

By 

Fred "Technology is your friend." (CHAPEL HILL, NC, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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

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.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Read, February 26, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Computer: A History Of The Information Machine (Sloan Technology Series) (Hardcover)

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.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An informative account of the history of the computer, January 2, 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.