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SLAVES OF THE MACHINE

THE QUICKENING OF COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY

An uninspiring review of the history of the computer, and an evaluation of its impact on our society today and in decades to come. In his previous book, Moths to the Flame: The Seductions of Computer Technology (not reviewed), Rawlins wrote effectively for a lay audience, prophesying the future of the computer and preaching cautious guidance of its evolution toward thinking machines. For some reason, he revisits that topic here with little variation in his material or tone. But this time, the material seems dull and overly abstract. In this diminutive volume, Rawlins (Computer Science/Indiana Univ., Bloomington) takes us through the oft-repeated history of the computer, from British mathematicians Charles Babbage and Alan Turing to todays programmers working in esoteric machine languages. He then asks a series of important questions: How do we communicate with computers? What can and can't they do? Can they mimic the thought processes of the human brain? Yet, despite an overly pedantic and hortatory tone, the answers fail to inform. Rawlins's anecdotes and metaphors are repetitive, and his thinking is circuitous, if not tautological: ``Only tomorrow's children can tell us what tomorrow's computers can do.'' Rawlins seems caught between talking down to the lay reader and writing in sophisticated terms about the growing influence of computer technology. At the book's end, he finally comes to its point: Since computers are evolving rapidly (he claims they double in complexity every 18 months) and we are not, computers will ultimately become uncontrollable: ``No self-aware creature will suffer itself to be a slave,'' he warns. But he doesn't posit specific solutions; indeed, it isn't even clear that he thinks this is potentially disastrous. Muddled intentions, combined with the unconvincing specter of a world full of HALs controlling their makers, diminish Rawlins's latest effort to enlighten us about our future.

Pub Date: June 1, 1997

ISBN: 0-262-18183-5

Page Count: 240

Publisher: MIT Press

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1997

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THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE

50TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION

Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...

Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.

Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").

Pub Date: May 15, 1972

ISBN: 0205632645

Page Count: 105

Publisher: Macmillan

Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972

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NUTCRACKER

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

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