This Paperback Book item from The MIT Press was reviewed on 10-Oct-2008.
Search ISBN:0262681374 offer from Abebooks or used books from Alibris. The First Computers--History and Architectures (History of Computing) Reference Book. Classifications : General AAS Computer Science New & Used Textbooks Custom Stores Specialty Stores Books General AAS History Humanities New & Used Textbooks Custom Stores Specialty Stores Books General AAS Science & Ma . Click the following link to view the cover of The First Computers--History and Architectures (History of Computing). Related topics: General AAS. Computer Science. Custom Stores. Specialty Stores. Books. General AAS. History. Humanities. Custom Stores. Specialty Stores. requestid: 9fa16614-7634-4bf2-8041-81df751aff22
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1) Paperback Book The First Computers--History and Architectures (History of Computing) by The MIT Press. This is a series of papers stitched into a book, and without exception they are all well written, provide lots of technical detail, and are a joy to read. I highly recommend this book if you have any interest in the history of computing machinery and electronics. The only thing lacking is a story line or a plot - many books will detail the genius of a specific person or technical team (e.g. Seymour Cray, or the Macintosh developers), then take you through each phase of the development and success (or failure) of one or more products. This book, by contrast, is focused on the technical nitty-gritty, and the personalities and financial success/failure of the business is generally ignored.¤ 2) Paperback Book The First Computers--History and Architectures (History of Computing) by The MIT Press. This book is very technical, which is exactly what I was looking for. It is filled with architectual diagrams, opcodes, and even code fragments from the earliest computers. Some of these machines even predate World War 2. The book opens with discussions on the taxonomy of these primordial computers. This section is the weakest part of the book. External references are mentioned, when they should have been described in detail. Another typical problem is on page 8, where a family tree is printed in a micro-fiche font. The remainder of the book is divided into sections for the US, UK, Germany, and Japan. This is the bulk of the text, and the reason why you would want to buy it. I must stress again, that the articles are extremely technical. They will be hard to follow without a background in digital design, some knowledge of system architecture, and maybe some assembly. But for those who can appreciate it, it is absolutely fascinating. This is my favorite book that none of my friends would appreciate!¤ 3) Paperback Book The First Computers--History and Architectures (History of Computing) by The MIT Press. This history of computing focuses not on chronology (what came first and who deserves credit for it) but on the actual architectures of the first machines that made electronic computing a practical reality. The book covers computers built in the United States, Germany, England, and Japan. It makes clear that similar concepts were often pursued simultaneously and that the early researchers explored many architectures beyond the von Neumann architecture that eventually became canonical. The contributors include not only historians but also engineers and computer pioneers.
An introductory chapter describes the elements of computer architecture and explains why "being first" is even less interesting for computers than for other areas of technology. The essays contain a remarkable amount of new material, even on well-known machines, and several describe reconstructions of the historic machines. These investigations are of more than simply historical interest, for architectures designed to solve specific problems in the past may suggest new approaches to similar problems in today´s machines.¤ Page Updated: Robert N. Goolsby, 7-Nov-2008, 02626813749780262681377, 900-340-740-080-260-751-591-501-341-8 
The First Computers--History and Architectures (History of Computing), Book, Image © The MIT Press
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