Computers: An Illustrated History (Hardcover)

~ Christian Wurster (Author) "The inspiration to build a computer came to Konrad Zuse of Berlin when he found himself face with repetitive calculations in the course of his..." (more)
Key Phrases: Vannevar Bush, Toronto Maple Leafs, World Wide Web (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The incredible shrinking computer

"Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons"

Popular Mechanics, forecasting the relentless march of science, 1949

Remember your first computer? No doubt it now seems like a relic from the Flintstone era. From automated punch-card calculators to the first personal computers such as the Apple II and Commodore 64, to today's Sony Vaios and PowerBook G4s, the computer has undergone an amazing, rapid evolution in its brief history. Can you believe the computer's first input device was a light pen used to select a symbol on the screen? And that computer keyboards were preceded by teletypewriters? The progress we've witnessed in our lifetimes is mind-boggling. The struggle for the best interface, the greatest design, and the fastest processor have resulted in computers of a size, power, capability and use that were unfathomable only a few decades ago.

Discover the fascinating history of computers, interfaces, and computer design in this illustrated guide that includes pictures of nearly every computer ever made, an informative text describing the computer's evolution up to the present day, and an A-Z index of the most influential computer firms.

**special horizontal format, laptop-style

About the Author

Christian Wurster (born 1969) was graduated in Media-Sciences at the Technical University Berlin. He lives and works in Berlin as an independent Art-Director and Designer.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 480 pages
• Publisher: Taschen (February 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 3822812935
• ISBN-13: 978-3822812938
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,027,873 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Poorly Researched, but pretty, August 13, 2002

By A Customer

The book itself is pretty, but poorly researched, with errors a plenty and a style that doesn't work with the topic.
The works of Paul Cerruzzi, Michael Williams or Bill Asprey are much better as an introduction to the concepts, and have at least a bit of accuracy when it comes to the material.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Fun for reminiscing, April 29, 2005

By	David A. Teich (Texas) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I first started working on both mainframes and personal computers in the 1970s, and have worked on a wide variety of machines.

The book has a number of errors, but is a wonderful buy for those of us who grew up with computers. It generally follows the right flow of creation, but is so superficial that there are errors. Those people looking to learn about the history of computers should avoid this. However, those of you looking to take a walk down memory lane will love the book and its pictures.

If you know the real stories, the pictures bring back lots of fun memories. If you don't know the real story, get some other books, you won't understand the pictures and the text isn't good enough.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining book on a usually dry topic, great photos!, September 30, 2004

By	Elmer Sigmon - See all my reviews

Most books on the history of computing are dry treatises without a lot of good illustrations, but this one is different. More of an art book than serious history (see the other reviews) it presents the history of computing with a wonderful collection of large color illustrations, such as fantastic close-up shots of Engelbart's original mouse from 1968, hilariously weird UNIVAC ads from the '50s, rare & hard to find screen shots of early applications, as well as images from popular culture that reflected the computing mentality of the era. There are better books for the facts, but not many in league with this one for pure style.