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THE SUPERMEN

Name: THE SUPERMEN
Author: Charles J. Murray
ISBN: 0-471-04885-2

THE STORY OF SEYMOUR CRAY AND THE TECHNICAL WIZARDS BEHIND THE SUPERCOMPUTER

by Charles J. Murray ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 14, 1997

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The name Cray is to the computer world what Ferrari is to the automotive world: a synonym for sheer speed and engineering bravado. Here's the story of the man behind the name, from Murray, a senior editor at Design News. Seymour Cray was among the young WW II vets who found an engineering job at Minnesota-based ERA, one of the companies that grew up in response to the continuing military demand for advanced computers. He was almost immediately recognized as a genius. Cray combined a quick grasp of theory with the willingness to sit and hard-wire his own circuits. It was his recognition, in 1954, that transistor technology allowed both greater speed and reliability that catapulted him into the front rank of industrial genius. Moving to the newly founded Control Data Company, at age 35 Cray produced the CDC 1604, the fastest machine ever built. Impatient with the corporate rituals of meetings, lunches, and political maneuvering, Cray soon moved CDC's research facilities to Chippewa Falls, Minn., and continued to design faster and faster machines. His design philosophy was unique: He insisted on building every new computer from the ground up, while resisting the temptation to base his designs on untried technology. Eventually his independence led him away from CDC to found Cray Research. The Cray 1, the first computer to adopt integrated-circuit technology, became the instant standard by which all other machines were judged. But by 1989, Cray's maverick ways led him to split from his own company, searching for even faster and better computers. By then, though, the loss of Cold War funding had changed the economic landscape; there were no longer customers willing to pay whatever it cost to get the fastest possible machine. The Cray 4, his last completed design, never reached the marketplace. Murray tells the story of Cray compellingly, and few readers will be able to close the book without a regret at the passing of an age when such independent giants could rule the world. (8 pages b&w photos, not seen)

Pub Date: Feb. 14, 1997

ISBN: 0-471-04885-2

Page Count: 256

Publisher: Wiley

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.