The editions EDP Sciences sent me a book a few days ago that I am very happy to introduce to you: Illustrated History of Computing. It's been a long time since I left my Kindle for a paper book, but after devouring it from cover to cover, in just a few days, it's a real favorite. It should please a large number of Byothe.fr readers!
This book ofEmmanuel Lazard and Pierre-Eric Mounier-Kuhn traces the entire history of computing from the first counting techniques of Antiquity to the smartphones that we still use today, including the supercomputers and behemoths that emerged during the post-war years.
Each part of the book consists of a general text of a few pages on the historical period concerned (mechanical machines, the first computers, ... microcomputing ...) followed by photos and short texts explaining the characters, technological advances and inventions which marked each of these periods of history.
The texts are very well written and are aimed at all audiences, avoiding going into too much technical detail which could put off some readers.
In addition, the high-quality historical illustrations pleasantly facilitate the reading and reflect the fact that computing has not always been what we know today.
This Illustrated History of Computing fills a gap in the historical treatment of a discipline that is often considered to be reserved for spotty people with glasses but whose origins ultimately go back hundreds or even thousands of years. Indeed, humans have always sought to equip themselves with tools and then machines capable of helping them advance first in the scientific, then economic and now leisure fields.
There you have it, in any case it is a very beautiful work that I invite you to discover or why not to offer… it will please all computer enthusiasts! You can order it almost everywhere and in particular on Amazon.
I can only add your excellent reading report! Yes, the history of computing deserved a great book!
Congratulations for this article, I can't wait to read this book. I had already noticed, through interviews and TV shows, that this PE Mounier-Kuhn had a deep knowledge of this subject. Now with images, it will probably be easier to understand, for those who are not good at computers - but who would like to understand more!