A comprehensive history of the computer, much of it standard but with some surprising interpretations. The explosive growth of the Internet has raised public interest in high technology to historic levels, eclipsing even the personal computer craze of the early '80s. In the midst of this unprecedented hype, computer science lecturer Campbell-Kelly (Warwick Univ., England) and Aspray (executive director, Computing Research Association) present not just a biography but a genealogy of the computer. Their story begins in the 19th century, the Dark Ages of inefficient number-crunching, when mathematicians, including the brilliant Charles Babbage, made the first awkward and unsuccessful steps toward calculating machines. Unfortunately, all but the most dedicated techies will drown in the soporific sea of details presented here. But the narrative picks up with the emergence of the first real computers in the '50s, including dinosaurs like the ENIAC, which filled a huge basement room at Harvard and used 18,000 vacuum tubes. The authors adeptly chronicle IBM's rise to dominance in the '60s, the PC revolution of the '80s, and the software wars of the '90s, and they throw into question the cults of personality around such figures as Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates and Apple cofounder Steve Jobs, arguing that the personal computer was the result of a rich interplay of cultural forces and commercial interests. Gates's role in particular is reduced to human proportions: He's portrayed as the beneficiary of a generous deal with IBM for the licensing of MS-DOS, insuring a constant cash flow to cover up for early, otherwise fatal mistakes. The authors conclude with an uninspiring chapter on the recent emergence of the Internet. This narrative history should please computer insiders and academics but may leave the lay reader seeking relief with the nearest video game. (photos, not seen)
Pub Date: Aug. 14, 1996
ISBN: 0-465-02989-2
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Basic Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1996
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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