A History of Modern Computing, 2nd Edition (History of Computing)

Author - Paul E. Ceruzzi ... [Goo?] [Posters]

This Paperback Book item from The MIT Press was reviewed on 10-Oct-2008.

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1) Paperback Book A History of Modern Computing, 2nd Edition (History of Computing) by The MIT Press. This review is of the 1st edition, published in 1998.

Ceruzzi´s A History of Modern Computing is an academic book, not a popularization of the history of computers. It is not a chatty book. There are no personalities in it. There is no journalistic reporting of conversations, nor of the progression of various difficulties and triumphs during the design and development of the computer systems discussed.

This is not a comprehensive history of computers. ENIAC is mentioned, but this book begins its history, post-WWII, with UNIVAC. The focus is upon US developments. It was not written to inform computer scientists and engineers of detailed design elements of past computer systems, although design elements of both hardware and software are discussed. It is the story of the rise and fall of the mainframe and the rise of the personal desktop computer; but it does not provide a history of Apple or Microsoft or of the development of the Internet.

It is more satisfying as a history than the the 1st edition of the book Computer: A History Of The Information Machine by Martin Campbell-Kelly and William Aspray (which I read after reading this book), because there is more detail. It complements their book very well and would be a good choice to read if you read that and wish for more. But this is still within the realm of what I consider first looks.

Contents -

Introduction: Defining "Computer"
1. The Advent of Commercial Computing, 1945-1956
2. Computing Comes of Age, 1956-1964
3. The Early History of Software, 1952-1968
4. From Mainframe to Minicomputer, 1959-1969
5. The Go-Go Years and the System/360. 1961-1975
6. The Chip and Its Impact, 1965-1975
7. The Personal Computer, 1972-1977
8. Augmenting Human Intellect, 1975-1985
9. Workstations, UNIX, and the Net, 1981-1995
Conclusion: The Digitization of the World Picture¤

2) Paperback Book A History of Modern Computing, 2nd Edition (History of Computing) by The MIT Press. This book is essentially a compilation and review of the current literature on the history of computing. As near as I can tell, there is no original research (e.g., interviews with actual participants in the events). This has led to a book that´s off the mark in some ways:

* Ceruzzi accepts uncritically the statements of other authors.

* He also arrives at some odd conclusions - for example, his notion that the success of the Windows operating system is somehow due to the use of hungarian notation.

* He fails to give credit to the right people. He claims for example that DEC´s TOPS-10 operating system was the result of work done by MIT. In fact, some of the key features of that OS were developed by students at Stevens Tech in New Jersey. Those students then went on to join the engineering staff at DEC.

So, for anyone with real background in computers - and especially for anyone who lived through the period Ceruzzi is describing - this book is a little bit like reading something written by an anthropologist from another planet. It´s just "off".

On the positive side, the bibliography and reference notes in this book will give you an excellent starting point for your own research.
¤

3) Paperback Book A History of Modern Computing, 2nd Edition (History of Computing) by The MIT Press. I think that the book would have earned a lot if it had illustrations. Well, you can find several fotographs inside, but they are few. Instead of this book, I would recommend Stan Augarten´s Bit by Bit. It has lots of photos inside, and they make the book very enjoyable and easy to read; besides, it has lots of information.¤

4) Paperback Book A History of Modern Computing, 2nd Edition (History of Computing) by The MIT Press. Ceruzzi provides a history of the central developments in computer history since the 1940´s. No, it doesn´t fully cover software and doesn´t cover every computer made everywhere in the world, so it shouldn´t be the only computer book you read. This book is simply the best, single volume history of the development of the electronic computer (hardware), from the 1940s to modern times. The biggest gap, as a previous reviewer pointed out, is the omission of Shockley.
Many obscure systems which were redundant or evolutionary dead-ends aren´t covered as fully as they could have been, but he details most of the ones that had a major impact on the world. I would recommend a history of software, as well as a history of computer precursers (such as Babbage´s machine) to accompany this history. Those reviewers who didn´t like the book had unrealistic expectations--it has a very specific focus.
The book is mildly technical, but you certainly don´t have to be a computer expert to understand it. (For those who want to know more about the software industry the book "From Airline Reservations to Sonic the Hedgehog: A History of the Software Industry" by Martin Campbell-Kelly is one of many good books on the subject. "Early British Computers" by Simon Lavington covers British developments in computer hardware.)¤

5) Paperback Book A History of Modern Computing, 2nd Edition (History of Computing) by The MIT Press. Ceruzzi defines the modern computing era as post World War 2. His narrative shows a twist perhaps unappreciated by current readers. Nowadays, all computers use semiconductor chips. Mostly made of silicon. But the use of such chips did not become widespread till the 1960s. For the first 20 years, computers used tubes. (Yuk.)

He explains why tubes were eventually abandoned, as being too bulky and slow compared to silicon based integrated circuits. There are several crucial landmarks scattered throughout the text. Like the invention of the integrated circuit by Kilby and Noyce, and that of the microprocessor by Hoff and Faggin. Curiously, the invention of the transistor in 1947-8 goes unremarked. With no mention at all of one of its inventors, Shockley. A grievous oversight, since he started a group, with members like Noyce and Moore, that would later prove crucial in developing the industry.¤

6) Paperback Book A History of Modern Computing, 2nd Edition (History of Computing) by The MIT Press. This engaging history covers modern computing from the development of the first electronic digital computer through the dot-com crash. The author concentrates on five 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 beginning of personal computing in the 1970s; the spread of networking after 1985; and, in a chapter written for this edition, the period 1995-2001. The new material focuses on the Microsoft antitrust suit, the rise and fall of the dot-coms, and the advent of open source software, particularly Linux.

Within the 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.¤

7) Paperback Book A History of Modern Computing, 2nd Edition (History of Computing) by The MIT Press. This book delivers exactly what its title promises: a straightforward and comprehensive account of the electronic digital computer´s first five decades. Starting with the historic ENIAC of 1945, Ceruzzi moves nimbly through one epochal generation of computing technology after another: the gargantuan, vacuum-tube-filled mainframes of the early ´50s; the sleeker, transistorized minicomputers of the ´60s; the personal computers conjured up by hobbyists in the ´70s; and the computer networks that have come to span offices and the globe in the last 10 years.

Ceruzzi places all of these developments in the context of the social phenomena that shaped them: the imperatives of Cold War research, the evolving needs of information-swamped businesses, and the quirks and dreams of counter-cultural computer hackers. But unlike some popular books about computing history, this one refuses to acknowledge any particular individual, group, or institution as its protagonist. The tale it tells is complex: a weave of high-level projects, lowbrow tinkerings, and sweeping socioeconomic transformations, with a crash course in the basics of computer architecture tossed in for good measure. The mix doesn´t make for great drama, but it does offer something perhaps more valuable--the sober, subtle feel of real history unfolding. --Julian Dibbell¤

Page Updated: Robert N. Goolsby, 7-Nov-2008, 02625320349780262532037, 380-340-2X0-730-751-111-701-M4B-8

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