The First Electronic Computer: The Atanasoff Story [Paperback]

Alice R. Burks (Author), Arthur W. Burks (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 15, 1989

Tells of the design, construction, and subsequent controversy over the first special-purpose electronic computer

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

John V. Atanasoff, assisted by graduate student Clifford Berry, conceived and built a partially electronic computer, stopping work in 1942 before it was fully operational. But his work predates that of J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly, widely credited with inventing the first general purpose electronic computer (the Eniac). Both books under review document Atanasoff's work and the subsequent legal case in which Sperry Rand's original patent was invalidated and aspects of the Eniac were found to "derive" from Atanasoff's work. The Burks, affiliated with the Moore School of Electrical Engineering when the Eniac was being developed, have firsthand knowledge through personal involvement. Their analysis of Atanasoff's work is extremely well done and technically insightful. Mollenhoff is a lawyer and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who lived in Iowa. Atanasoff developed his computer while a professor at Iowa State, and Mollenhoff has been championing his case since the decision on the Eniac patent in 1973. His book is a biography of Atanasoff, with an analysis of the patent suit. Though both books suffer from a certain stridency in stating Atanasoff's case and in chastising Mauchly for everything from unpatriotic to illegal behavior in not crediting Atanasoff's work, they both make valuable contributions to the record and do not overlap as much as the titles might indicate. Hilary D. Burton, Lawrence Livermore National Lab., Livermore, Cal.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: University of Michigan Press (November 15, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0472081047
• ISBN-13: 978-0472081042
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 7.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,493,478 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars J.V. Atanasoff: The Inventor of the Electronic Computer, January 4, 2000

By 

KEVIN COULOMBE (Seattle, WA.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The First Electronic Computer: The Atanasoff Story (Paperback)

The First Electronic Computer: The Atanasoff Story is an excellent historical and technical document of the ABC Computer. It traces the ENIAC lineage directly to the ABC and J.V.Atansoff. If there are any Atanasoff skeptics out there, this book is the definitive prescription to win their minds. A must have book for the personal library.

12 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Knew Dr. Atanasoff, November 24, 1999

By 

Vincent (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The First Electronic Computer: The Atanasoff Story (Paperback)

This book tells the story of Dr. John Vincent Atanasoff (a Bulgarian name; Dr. Atanasoff was native born in Hamilton, New York, 1903. He is credited by court decision in 1973 with the invention of the computer. The case in dispute was between Honeywell and Sperry Rand for claims of the computer invention. If either party have prevailed, the winner might have had patent rights. IBM was worried and introduced JV (as he was called) who showed that he had invented the computer at Iowa State in 1938 when he was in the mathematics department (JV was a 1930 PhD in physics from the University of Wisconsin). The computer invented belonged to JV and his assistant, Charles Berry (hence the name ABC = Atanasoff Berry Computer). There were several versions built, some in 1939 and in 1940.

The court decision was that as there was a prior invention (the ABC) which had not been patented by anyone, no one could patent the computer comcept. I am delighted that that was the decision and told JV that several times (I lived near him, his home was New Market Maryland and I was in Frederick Maryland) until he died about 10 years. He was always grouchy about my view but did concede (mostly by remaining silent) that the speed of computer advances was because there was no patent restriction in effect.

ENIAC owed much to Dr. Atanasoff as Mauchly saw the ABC in visits to Iowa State. Some visits were for several days ("for the better part of a week" was JV's court testimony). Programming and program languages were not part of JV contribution. Dr. Mauchly's own testimony as reproduced in the book shows he grudgedly agreed that he owed ideas and examples to others.

The original case was filed in 1968 as Honeywell v. Sperry Rand and Illinois Scientific Developments. Among the almost 100 issues pushed by Honeywell and the ENIAC, the judge, Earl R. Larsen, ruled "Eckert and Mauchly did not themselves first invent the automatic electronic digital computer, but instead derived that subject matter from one Dr. John Vincent Atanasoff". Other equally strong language was used to assert that JV and Berry held nothing back concerning the machine's theory, design, construction, use or operation; that Mauchly went to Ames Iowa and had correspondence with Atanasoff.

Judge Larsen's decision was not appealed by anyone. A blessing to us all.

Dr. Atanasoff did not realize until late in life that he had done something tremedous. He retired wealthy but not from his computer invention.

6 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All about the ABC machine!, January 30, 2004

By 

Soshichi Uchii (Kyoto, Japan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The First Electronic Computer: The Atanasoff Story (Paperback)

If you have heard something like "Atanasoff computer, or Atanasoff-Berry Machine was never built", or "ABC machine was not a computer", then the best thing you should do is to consult this book. It will tell you everything about the ABC machine, including technical details. An exact replica of the original ABC machine was built in 1997, and the team for this project consulted this book, and the authors. One of the authors, Alice Burks tells us, in her new book "Who invented the computer?" (2003), an amusing story. One day, a member of this team asked Arthur and Alice Burks, "How did you know these details?" They answered "By weekly phone talks with Atanasoff", and the inquirer was delighted.

This book also contains many quotations from the ENIAC patent trial, and you can check yourself the credibility of Atanasoff and Mauchly, and also the credibility of the Judge Larson. Anyone who denounces the ABC machine is either a fake or ignorant; they either ignore this book, or did not read this monumental book.