A Few Good Men from Univac [Hardcover]

David E. Lundstrom (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0735100101 | ISBN-13: 978-0735100107 | Publication Date: October 1997 | Edition: 1

In this personal memoir, electrical engineer David Lundstrom recalls the heyday of early computing - the rise of Control Data out of the Univac division of Sperry Rand, such milestone computer systems as the Univac and the Naval Tactical Data System the exploits of CDC's top designer Seymour Cray, and the gradual corporate shift from the exciting and technically interesting world of computer design to internal politics and clumsy bureaucracy.David E. Lundstrom's career spanned 30 years with Sperry Rand Corp. (now a division of Unisys Corp.) and Control Data Corporation.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Lundstrom's book is both a history of the computer industry and a piece of contemporary myth making" John Lamb New Scientist

"The author's lively anecdotes are fun to read." Paul E. Ceruzzi IEEE Spectrum

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 227 pages
• Publisher: Replica Books; 1 edition (October 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0735100101
• ISBN-13: 978-0735100107
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,260,057 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The early days of Univac, Control Data, and Cray., September 27, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: A Few Good Men from Univac (Mit Press Series in the History of Computing) (Hardcover)

Lots of first person inside information about the early days of commercial mainframe computers. The story covers Univac, Control Data Corporation (CDC) and Cray. The author tells how disenchanted Univac employees founded CDC and then later how Cray was founded when CDC managed to offend their lead designer Seymore Cray, whom they had lured away from Univac. The strange and incestuous relationships of the three companies is covered from an insider's point of view. The author reveals what a hotbed of computer development the Twin Cities (St. Paul and Minneapolis Minnesota) was in the '60s and '70s. It also has some absolutely fascinating information about Seymore Cray. Any serious student of computer history should have this book.

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect, May 3, 2010

By 

R. Raschke - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Few Good Men From Univac (History of Computing) (Paperback)

Spectacular book about early computers and lots of insight into long
running projects, what makes them tick, problems they encounter, etc.

Includes a great case study on the attempts to computerise the airline
industry, even has a picture of a prototype computer readable airline
ticket of the form that was very very briefly current before being replaced
by online tickets.

And my favourite quote from the book:

It is easy to judge when the morale of an engineering group is high. Just
listen to the conversations in the hallways and in the lunchroom. If the
engineers are talking about their projects, morale is high. If they are
talking about fishing or baseball scores, morale is so-so. If they are
talking about company management and organization, look out - morale
is poor.

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow, May 21, 2001

By 

Mark Wintle (Morristown, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Few Good Men from Univac (Hardcover)

I've read a lot of the "history of computers" books, and this one is a standout. It's great fun to read and avoids that POV that the first computer ever was the Apple I.