Books

A Tribute to

Dr. J. Presper Eckert

Co-Inventor of ENIAC

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Books

Here are a few books to enhance you knowledge of the history of computers, ENIAC, and Eckert and Mauchly.

ENIAC: The Triumphs and Tragedies of the Worlds's First Computer
This is an excellent overview of Dr. Eckert's and Mauchly's story. Though there are many details to be filled in, after reading this book you will have a new appreciation for the magnitude of their achievement and an understanding of their rightful place in history. Check out the reviews at Amazon.com

Unfortunately the following books are out of print but if you click on one of them Amazon.com says they will do their best to track it down for you.

From Dits to Bits: A Personal History of the Electronic Computer
By Herman Lukoff
This guy was there. He worked on ENIAC and went with Pres and Mauchly to work on UNIVAC and stayed on to have a career at Sperry Rand. He's not the best writer but he more than makes up for it with his first hand knowledge.

Bit by Bit: An Illustrated History of Computers
By Stan Augarten
Published in the early eighties this was the most comprehensive book on the evolution of computing technology up to then. Stan Augarten starts with the abacus and takes the reader through detailed descriptions of primitive counting boards, Pascal's first calculator, Babbage's analytical engine, Hollerith's punched cards, IBM, ENIAC, etc. All of the machines, all of the personalities and their businesses up through the early days of the PC are here. This is a wonderful read for computer history buffs.

Digital Deli : The Comprehensive, User-Lovable Menu of Computer Lore, Culture, Lifestyles and Fancy
by Lunch Group, Steve Ditlea (Editor)

I haven't as yet, read the whole book. It's a collection of essays by a large number of authors. It was published in 1984 and there is an essay by Pres and a couple of interesting horoscopes of the computer industry generated by astrologers using the "birthday" of ENIAC to create the astrological chart. Since we are now living in the future projected by the essay writers it's a pretty interesting read.

I'll be putting more books on this page as I read them and have something to say about them. In the mean time you can shop for more books on this subject at

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