A Computer Perspective: Background to the Computer Age, New Edition 2nd Edition

by Charles Eames (Author), Ray Eames (Author), Glen Fleck (Editor),

4 ratings

ISBN-13: 978-0674156265

ISBN-10: 0674156269

Why is ISBN important?

Have one to sell?

Sell on Amazon

Paperback

$8.64 - $33.80

Other Sellers

from

Other Sellers

See all 2 versions

Used: Acceptable | Details

Sold by AJ's Pop-up Shop

Fulfilled by Amazon

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.

12 used from $3.52

FREE Shipping on orders over $25.00 shipped by Amazon or get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime

FREE delivery: Wednesday, May 5 on orders over $25.00 shipped by Amazon. Details

Fastest delivery: Tuesday, May 4
Order within 1 hr and 10 mins Details

Only 1 left in stock - order soon.

Ships from and sold by Mister N.F..

List Price: $36.50 Details

Save: $2.70 (7%)

9 new from $33.78

$3.98 delivery: May 7 - 12

A Computer Perspective is an illustrated essay on the origins and first lines of development of the computer. The complex network of creative forces and social pressures that have produced the computer is personified here in the creators of instruments of computation, and their machines or tables; the inventors of mathematical or logical concepts and their applications; and the fabricators of practical devices to serve the immediate needs of government, commerce, engineering, and science.

The book is based on an exhibition conceived and assembled for International Business Machines (IBM) Corporation. Like the exhibition, it is not a history in the narrow sense of a chronology of concepts and devices. Yet these pages actually display more true history (in relation to the computer) than many more conventional presentations of the development of science and technology.

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

Charles Eames
2
Hardcover
4 offers from $29.99

Special offers and product promotions

Amazon Business: Make the most of your Amazon Business account with exclusive tools and savings. Login now
Amazon Business : For business-only pricing, quantity discounts and FREE Shipping. Register a free business account

Editorial Reviews

Review

“A Computer Perspective is the first truly graphic history of the origin and development of the computer… This book will long remain a unique anthology of the great events that occur when dreamers and theorists can get together with engineers and inventors.”―The Economist

“A Computer Perspective: Background to the Computer Age sets out to…[place] the digital computer in its historical context, taking 1950 as its terminal date. By then, the digital computer revolution had been fully inaugurated with the first generation of modern stored-program computers. The book casts a wide net as it presents, mainly with pictures and captions, the many contributory ideas and developments that provide the foundation and background for the computer age… This is a book full of interesting pictures and quotations. It brings out the technical, human and social aspects of the development of computers in an imaginative way. Who could resist a book containing such fascinating information?”―Antony Anderson, New Scientist

“[This] book set a standard for the history of computing.”―P. E. Ceruzzi, Computing Reviews

“The volume is a must for everyone interested in computer history and an important tool for anyone wanting to understand how the computer age started.”―Heinz Zemanek, Science of Computer Programming

About the Author

I. Bernard Cohen was Victor S. Thomas Professor of the History of Science, Emeritus, at Harvard University, and one of the founders of the modern study of the history of science.

Product details

Publisher : Harvard University Press; 2nd edition (September 1, 1990)
Language : English
Paperback : 176 pages
ISBN-10 : 0674156269
ISBN-13 : 978-0674156265
Item Weight : 1 pounds
Dimensions : 8.76 x 0.5 x 8.78 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,146,761 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #445 in Engineering Patents & Inventions
- #5,825 in History & Philosophy of Science (Books)
- #5,924 in Computer Science (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star 0% (0%)		0%
4 star		16%
3 star		46%
2 star 0% (0%)		0%
1 star		38%

How are ratings calculated?

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

David Barnett

Background to the Computer Age

Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2007

So many books focus on the 60's as a start point with a brief synopsis of the beforehand but this visual essay lays out the territory from Babbage in the 1800's to SEAC in the 50's with the emphasis on a pictorial timeline and some factual points. Its an overview of the computers pre-history which ran alongside Charles and Ray Eames' IBM exhibition 'A Computer Perspective' - all important research for computer 'Nerdcorps' and historical browsers alike.

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

Charles A. Germershausen

A complete guide to computer history.

Reviewed in the United States on July 7, 2000

Clear, but brief details on a vast array of the people, machines, and problems associated with the invention of the computer. It's a very picture intense book that makes learning the computer age interesting and somewhat exciting. This extensive collection of pictures ranges from the real news articles to the inventors actually working the machines. This book acts as a perfect quick-reference to the computer age.

10 people found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

penguni

Beware of cheap contemporary reproductions.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 26, 2015

Verified Purchase

Some sellers appear to be peddling cheap contemporary 'print on demand' copies of this book, under the same old ISBN. Watch out, these are really poor print quality.

See all reviews

Pages with related products. See and discover other items: history of computer