Presper Eckert's second wife remarked that Mauchly could not have put together ENIAC without Eckert, but that Eckert would not have thought of it without Mauchly, she was portraying Mauchly as a certain type of genius - a disorganized dreamer full of inspiration that comes from nowhere. However, everyone, including those who knew him through Atanasoff, remarked on his sociable nature and his aptitude for conversation, and so the evidence is that his ideas did come from somewhere - from others, if only in embryonic form.
This, too, accords with certain theories of creativity [ Circumstances were such that their work led to dead ends, as far as the later development of digital computers is concerned. Ironically, Atanasoff's ideas may well have suffered the same fate had they not been nicked by the more ambitious and better-connected Mauchly.
Feb 12, Roger Blakesley rated it really liked it. I learned much about the first digital computer that I didn't know from this book. When I was a student at Iowa State in the early '80s a freely touchable replica of the Atanasoff-Berry computer was in an alcove of the Physics buiding and students could walk by and touch touch it if they wished; but they never did. The next time I saw that replica, it was fully restored and behind glass in hushed conditions in a museum in Des Moines, Iowa thirty years later.
I laughed at the irony. I think the re I learned much about the first digital computer that I didn't know from this book. I think the replica is now back home at Iowa State. The book covers the parallel confluent forces that culminated in one of the most culture-changing technologies in history.
Sometimes I didn't know where she was going and quite a bit of extraneous material could have been excised; in particular too much material on Alan Turing. The book climaxes with the seeming murder of the co-engineer, Berry, and the trial at which the retired Atanasoff decides to claim his place in history. And he achieves it in a powerful courtroom drama, readily trouncing his ennervated enemy, Mauchly; justice is somewhat accomplished. But Berry's seeming murder remains a closed case.
And a fascinating and isolated story of another lone inventor, no math genius he; but an artist; in Nazi Germany who by great cleverness also invents a digital base-two computer, Konrad Zuse.
If the history books are to ever be correct, the names of the true inventors of the modern digital computer should be listed as Atanasoff-Berry AND Zuse. I could tell the author was well experienced with much writing behind her. I would have cut the book by th. But the entirety that I did read was still incredibly informative and enjoyable.
Dec 28, Marty rated it liked it. I was interested in reading this book because John Atanasoff built his computer while he was at Iowa State in the s and also because the author of the book used to teach at Iowa State. I think the book is mis-titled. The book t I was interested in reading this book because John Atanasoff built his computer while he was at Iowa State in the s and also because the author of the book used to teach at Iowa State.
The book talks about other computer inventors and about how World War II was a great influence on the history of the computer. A man named Mauchly has gotten credit for inventing the computer, but as the book shows, he got his ideas during a visit to Iowa State to see Atanasoff's computer.
The author did a good job of explaining how computers work and what calculus is and why calculus is too time-consuming to do by hand and why computers can do it much faster. I kind of understood it at the time I was reading it, but I certainly couldn't explain it now. Interesting fact - the term "bit" is a binary digit.
I still don't understand "binary" math as opposed to decimal system of math. Arabic numerals grow bigger right to left because Arabic is read right to left The term "digital" refers to counting on the fingers digits. One incident in the book should be turned into a whole book.
It is possible that Clifford Berry, who helped Atanasoff build his computer at Iowa State, was murdered because of the legal battle between two big companies over the patent rights to the computer. Now that would make a good book. The first half of this book is tremendously more interesting than the second. In the first half the author gives an exceptionally good and interesting explanation of how the second world war gave rise to the creation of the first computers, with several important figures working mostly independently and without much collaboration.
Some of the people described in this book are well known like Alan Turing and John von Neuman John von Neuman but others of equal importances are less known at leas The first half of this book is tremendously more interesting than the second. Some of the people described in this book are well known like Alan Turing and John von Neuman John von Neuman but others of equal importances are less known at least to me like Konrad Zuse , Tommy Flowers and the man in which this book is centered John Vincent Atanasoff.
The second half of this book is less interesting, because although it makes an important case, and gives the deserved credit to Atanasoff for creating the first automatic electronic digital computer, it is about the trail Honeywell v.
Sperry Rand in which this invention among other things was argued. Feb 04, Pierre Lauzon rated it really liked it. This is a concise text pages , well written biography of the inventor of the modern digital computer. The book also details, through relevant vignettes, other notable individuals in the history of computing such as Alan Turing, John von Neumann, Konrad Zuse, and Tommy Flowers.
Atanasoff had his flash of insight while si This is a concise text pages , well written biography of the inventor of the modern digital computer. Atanasoff had his flash of insight while sitting with a drink at a roadhouse in Rock Island, Illinois, seeking to find a less tedious way of calculating equations with multiple variables. His doctoral dissertation was only 10 pages long, but his calculations with analog multiple-key adding machines drove his inventiveness later.
He built a working prototype with graduate student Clifford Berry at Iowa State. Without spoiling the text for readers, his invention was coopted by John Mauchly. The fog of World War II, classified work, and other circumstances are also factors in the anonymity that Atanasoff suffered during his life and beyond. The author, Jane Smiley, is far better known for her novels. She wrote this book with great care and accuracy.
Her reverence for Land Grant Colleges and their influence on American and world history shows through. Feb 23, Cheryl Gatling added it. I think I would have liked this book better with a less contentious title. The critical reviewers on Amazon argue that as a novelist and not a techno-geek, Smiley doesn't know enough about the science involved to judge whose ideas were most important in the development of the computer.
And I don't either. But she does convince me that John Atanasoff did not get his due. He was I think I would have liked this book better with a less contentious title. He was brilliant, and an original thinker, but not self-aggrandizing, and not a backstabber, as some other computer pioneers would prove to be. I am pleased that Atanasoff's name is creeping back into the historical account.
But Smiley also convinces me that many men contributed to the development of the computer as we know it, and the synthesis of all their ideas is what gave us our desktops and laptops.
It is unfortunate that Atanasoff's ideas were stolen, as it appears they were, but if they had not been used, the innovations of the ABC Atanasoff-Berry Computer might have languished in the basement of the Physics Building in Ames, Iowa, instead of changing the world. Let us now praise John Atanasoff, and also praise all the other flawed geniuses who gave us the computer.
May 09, Stephany Wilkes rated it liked it. I adore Jane Smiley, Atanasoff deserves more recognition and this book is necessary, and Smiley's work A Thousand Acres is beyond brilliant. But this book just didn't grab me the way other histories of technology often do.
The people stories are strong and, if you are looking for a biography of Atanasoff as a person, this is a very good book. I give it three stars because the technology side was not strong enough for my tastes in two ways. First, it did not go into sufficient depth to make a par I adore Jane Smiley, Atanasoff deserves more recognition and this book is necessary, and Smiley's work A Thousand Acres is beyond brilliant.
First, it did not go into sufficient depth to make a particular technical contribution's value or impact obvious to the non-technical reader. This would be fine if contributions had been briefly explained in a way to clearly communicate the "wow moment," but they were not. I have worked in software for 15 years and was already familiar with much of this material.
I also enjoy reading technology history books. And I had several moments in which I thought "You know, if I didn't know all of this myself, this description wouldn't make me GET the impact that this man's work has since had.
Despite this minor shortcoming, it is worth the read if for no other reason than to give Atanasoff credit where credit to him is due. It has taken long enough. Jan 12, Craig Pittman rated it it was amazing. A lively and fascinating non-fiction book by one of America's best novelists, incorporating not just a history of the computer but also a spy story, a murder mystery, a courtroom drama and an examination of the nature of creativity.
This book was full of surprises -- for instance, I had no idea before reading this book that the inventor of the computer, John Atanasoff, had grown up in Florida, where his father worked at a phosphate mining company, and he got his B. All in all he was a A lively and fascinating non-fiction book by one of America's best novelists, incorporating not just a history of the computer but also a spy story, a murder mystery, a courtroom drama and an examination of the nature of creativity.
All in all he was a fascinating character, cranky yet brilliant. I saw the NYT didn't think a lot of this book, but I sure did. It was a quick read, too -- slightly more than pages. Smiley chooses a nice framing device, too, as she explains how the computer on which she's writing the book came into being. Incidentally, I see some readers complained about getting bogged down in the technical stuff -- I have to say that I didn't run into that problem at all, and I'm no technogeek.
For those who ARE technogeeks, though, Smiley thoughtfully includes some afterwords by a professor to explain some of the more arcane details about Atanasoff's invention. I didn't read the appendices, so I can't speak to their worthiness. Feb 13, Geoff rated it liked it Shelves: biography , history , technology , computer , computer-shelf.
An interesting book about a computing pioneer I had never heard of. She shows most of these individuals had a strong need to solve some heavy calculation problems. These individuals stood out also as very creative people with traits like: self-confidence, independence, high ener An interesting book about a computing pioneer I had never heard of.
These individuals stood out also as very creative people with traits like: self-confidence, independence, high energy, willingness to take risks, above-average intelligence, openness to experience, and preference for complexity.
Including a key component of a creative mind, what R. Keith Sawyer's creativity expert calls "problem finding"—that is, the ability to productively formulate a problem so that the terms of the problem lead to a solution. But he is visited by John Mauchly who understands more than John realises. The book runs out of steam at the end getting too involved with the patent dispute and court case. Nov 29, Steven rated it really liked it Shelves: pulitzer-author , biography.
However, I believe that the title of the book is somewhat misleading. Although the book does include a biography of John Atanasoff, considered the inventor of the computer, it also details the lives of other pioneers in the development of the computer. The book takes us through the development of the first computer at Iowa State College in Ames and then launches into a history of the effect WWII had on the development of the computer and private development following the war.
The book largely ignores Atanasoff during the middle portion of the book and only brings him back into the story at the end where he is used as an expert witness in the patent fight between the major players in the computer industry.
Nov 12, N. Shelves: borrowed-from-library , finished , non-fiction. It's been a bit. So I'll take a bit to get back into the gear of reviewing books. For now, I'll try some bullet points for a review style.
I got a good amount of prose in learning how he dealt with his situation. I got perturbed by learning about the fallout from his Homosexuality being revealed. I don't know how I would write the autobiography.
But I t It's been a bit. But I think I would like to learn more about Mauchly and Suze. Particularly since I was in the middle of reading one section. And then I was introduced to Suze, a guy who tried to work on his take on a computer. Thank you to Jane Smiley for being around. I'm going to see what else I can learn about different people who tried to interpret the idea of a calculating machine.
Apr 29, Jacob Fure rated it really liked it Shelves: biography. It is a disputed issue of who is the real person to invent the first computer. Many were credited for it, and this book covers how the computer was being invented around the word simultaneously by various people under different cultural and social pressures. I love the part in the book when Atanasoff, a college professor, and scientist, finally gives up on his problem and decides to take his new Ford on a joy ride to the next town over.
During this drive of desperation, the answer to his problem It is a disputed issue of who is the real person to invent the first computer. During this drive of desperation, the answer to his problem flashed into his mind and he stopped at a bar to write it all down on a napkin. This concept is similar to how Einstein's answer flashed into his mind after he was giving up on his theory of relativity. I think they even recommended a book on creativity related to this concept, i wish i could remember Dec 25, Chris rated it liked it.
It's an interesting story, but not quite gripping. Perhaps this would have been a stronger connection if Smiley was a computer scientist or engineer. There is a lot too much? There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one ». Readers also enjoyed. Biography Memoir. About Jane Smiley. Jane Smiley.
Jane Smiley is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist. Louis, and graduated from John Burroughs School. Pub Date: Oct. Page Count: Publisher: Doubleday. Review Posted Online: Aug. No Comments Yet. More by Kate Bolick. Pub Date: Sept. Page Count: Publisher: Viking.
Show comments. More by Robert Greene. More About This Book. Reader Votes New York Times Bestseller. IndieBound Bestseller. Page Count: Publisher: Dial Books. Review Posted Online: Dec. The whole world changed. Because he never patented the device, and because the developers of the far-better-known ENIAC almost certainly stole critical ideas from him.
But in a court declared that the patent on that Sperry Rand device was invalid, opening the intellectual property gates to the computer revolution.
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