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This engaging history covers modern computing from the development
of the first electronic digital computer through the advent
of the World Wide Web. The author concentrates on four key
moments of transition: the transformation of the computer
in the late 1940s from a specialized scientific instrument
to a commercial product; the emergence of small systems
in the late 1960s; the beginnings of personal computing
in the 1970s; and the spread of networking after 1985.
Within this chronological narrative, the book traces several
overlapping threads: the evolution of the computer's internal design; the effect
of economic trends and the Cold War; the long-term role of IBM as a player and
as a target for upstart entrepreneurs; the growth of software from a hidden element
to a major character in the story of computing; and the recurring issue of the
place of information and computing in a democratic society. The focus is on the
United States (though Europe and Japan enter the story at crucial points), on
computing per se rather than on applications such as artificial intelligence,
and on systems that were sold commercially and installed in quantities. The author
balances stories of individuals with those of institutions and emphasizes those
factors that conspired to bring about the decisive shifts in the story.
Paul E. Ceruzzi is Curator, National Air and Space Museum,
Department of Space History, and the author of Beyond the Limits: Flight Enters
the Computer Age. |
