The Man Who Invented the Computer: The Biography of John Atanasoff, Digital Pioneer

作者 Jane Smiley著
出版社 Random House US
出版时间 2011年3月第1版
ISBN 9780385527132
定价 184.70

内容简介

Fromoneofourmostacclaimednovelists,a?David-and-Goliathbiographyforthedigitalage.Onenightinthelate1930s,inabarontheIllinois–Iowaborder,JohnVincentAtanasoff,aprofessorofphysicsatIowaStateUniversity,afterafrustratingdayperformingtediousmathematicalcalculationsinhislab,hitontheideathatthebinarynumbersystemandelectronicswitches,com-binedwithanarrayofcapacitorsonamovingdrumtoserveasmemory,couldyieldacomputingmachinethatwouldmakehislifeandthelivesofothersimilarlyburdenedscientistseasier.Thenhewentbackandbuiltthemachine.Itworked.Thewholeworldchanged.Whydon’tweknowthenameofJohnAtanasoffaswellasweknowthoseofAlanTuringandJohnvonNeumann?Becauseheneverpatentedthedevice,andbecausethedevelopersofthefar-better-knownENIACalmostcertainlystolecriticalideasfromhim.Butin1973acourtdeclaredthatthepatentonthatSperryRanddevicewasinvalid,openingtheintellectualpropertygatestothecomputerrevolution.JaneSmileytellsthequintessentiallyAmericanstoryofthechildofimmigrantsJohnAtanasoffwithtechnicalclarityandnarrativedrive,makingtheracetodevelopdigitalcomputingasgrippingasareal-life?techno-thriller.

作者简介

JaneSmileyJaneSmiley'spowerasawriterliesinherabilitytoevokeherchosenmilieu,nomatterhowfar-flung.ThePulitzerwinnerisabletovaryhersettings--from14th-centuryGreenlandtoamodern-daycollegecampus--aswellashertone,nevermissingabeat.BiographyJanesmileyistheauthorofmanynovels,includingAThousandAcres,whichwonthePulitzerPrize,andHorseHeaven.ShelivesinNorthernCalifornia.In2001,shewasinductedintotheAmericanAcademyofArtsandLetters.AuthorbiographycourtesyofRandomHouse,Inc.Hometown:NorthernCaliforniaDateofBirth:九月26,1949PlaceofBirth:LosAngeles,CaliforniaEducation:B.A.inEnglish,VassarCollege,1971;M.A.,IowaUniversity,1975;M.F.A,1976;Ph.D.,1978

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