The Computer

by Mark Frauenfelder

The Computer traces the evolution of this vital machine from its earliest roots through its exciting application in code-breaking during the Second World War, and from its initial use in the workplace and home to its current status as a totally indispensable part of twenty-first century life. Along the way the author examines some colorful moments in the computer's development, from the key battle between Apple and IBM in the 1980s, to the use of computers in film and television such as the 1950s film The Forbidden Planet. The speed at which computer technology is progressing is staggering, and the final chapter looks forward to a time when computers will be on our wrists, in our cars ? and possibly in our bodies.

Genres: History, Science, Nonfiction, Computers, Technology, Reference, Design

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Editor-in-chief of MAKE magazine. Founder of Boingboing.net.

My books: The Happy Mutant Handbook (1995, Riverhead), a guide to offbeat pop culture. Mad Professor (2003, Chronicle), science experiments for kids. Worlds Worst (2005, Chronicle), a guide to the worst stuff on Earth, The Computer (2005, Carlton books), an illustrated history of computers. Rule the Web (2007, St. Martins), a guide to online tricks and tips. Next book, The World in Your Hands, to be published in 2010 by Penguin,"

Reviews

[Anton Klink · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice pictures of old computer hardware but too much empty space for such a large format coffee table book. The texts accompanying the pictures was not very inspired and mostly quite mediocre. I am a tech fan and computer nerd so I was expecting more out of this book. Good for a browse-through but not good enough to be kept around. An OK book but not much else so borrow from a library or a friend if you can. I sold mine after having read it. Three stars.

[Evan · Rating 1 out of 5]

See the full review on my blog: Swallow Song. I've posted excerpts below.

While Fauenfelder's writing skills are alright, this book clearly did not receive enough editing. Fauenfelder repeated himself almost every other page, which makes it feel like he really didn't have much to say at all. It got to the point where I was ready to throw The Computer out the window is Fauenfelder mentioned Alan Turing's suicide one more time. Some of this repetition could have been resolved with a little reorganization of the material, but clearly the author and editor couldn't figure that out.

Organization aside, the font choice in this atrocious.

I only read 100 pages of The Computer before I gave up and pretty much every chapter featured blank space. The pictures took up most of the pages and underneath or beside each picture there were little blurbs explaining the photo.

The Computer is a coffee table book, the only problem is the book isn't good enough to be featured on a coffee table. If you have the kind of guests that just look at the pictures I suppose there isn't any harm in displaying the book, but if you have guests who actually read the books, spare them the headache.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a linear history of computing. It has 10 topical chapters that begin with an anecdote about the topic. The main body of each chapter has about 50% pictures or drawing and the balance is text. The descriptions emphasize two things: finding the first incident in each category and telling the human stories behind the innovations. It is well research, and lavishly illustrated, and written in a style that is easy to read quickly. It is not meant to be a comprehensive history of computing, and it is not meant to be. It is a good history of the mile stones of computing. Categories covered in the chapters include early calculating machines, mainframes, personal computing, computers in business, gaming, computers in movies and literature, and the internet.

[Brown Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy a solid history of computing and the associated accoutrements thereof, and this might be my favorite. The illustrated format keeps the proceedings brief and accessible for a person with casual interest such as I, so the jargon and technohistorical details never dampen my pleasure. The illos are top notch, and I learned a thing or two about obscure offshoots of the main stream of data manipulation development.

A rock-solid book for nerd and n00b alike.

[C.J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well-written and compiled book detailing the history of computer technology.

[Wasi Rizvi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy to read and filled with details worth the attention, this compilation makes confusing history fun to read.

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some interesting information, but not as good as it could have been.

[Absynthe Greene · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is more of a coffee-table or curiosity book than an in-depth look at either the science or history of computers. I found some interest in it as a result of not having much background knowledge in the field but for anyone who does have more than a passing interest in computers it will probably be much to vauge and basic to hold much interest.
I read the 2013 publication but not much, if anything, seems to have been updated from the 2005 original and the book's age is starting to show. I noticed several things I would expect to be included in a history of computing that were missing, including mentions of touchscreen devices, "cloud" data storage, the rise of text messaging to a popular form of communication, and, in the chapter on video games, both the rise of mobile gaming and virtual reality gaming.
In terms of physical quality it is a well made book with high quality images, so if you could find it at a cheap price it might be a nice thing to, again, display as a curiosity or a trivia book.

[Ariadna73 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great photos. I will eventually upload some as a joke to my Instagram.