README
A Bookish History of Computing from Electronic Brains to Everything Machines
$74.97
- Paperback
376 pages
- Release Date
16 December 2025
Summary
In README, historian Patrick McCray argues that for computers to become ubiquitous, people first had to become interested in them, learn about them, and take the machines seriously. A powerful catalyst for this transformation was, ironically, one of the oldest information technologies we have: books. McCray uses a carefully chosen selection of books, some iconic and others obscure, to describe this technological revolution as it unfolded in the half century after 1945.
<…Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780262553483 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 0262553481 |
| Author: | W. Patrick Mccray |
| Publisher: | MIT Press Ltd |
| Imprint: | MIT Press |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Number of Pages: | 376 |
| Release Date: | 16 December 2025 |
| Weight: | 369g |
| Dimensions: | 152mm x 229mm |
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Critics Review
“Whether writing about the familiar or the forgotten, McCray simply knows how to tell a good story, and the result is a refreshingly original account of how print publication influenced the earliest days of Silicon Valley and, in turn, how computing transformed print.”
—Lisa Gitelman, author of Always Already New and Paper Knowledge
“What an enjoyable journey through the world of books—yes, books—that guided us as we encountered this improbable invention.”
—Paul Ceruzzi, Curator Emeritus, National Air and Space Museum
“A wonderfully readable look at the interface between book history and computer history, README retells some familiar stories while uncovering a good many more, accompanying them with critical analysis, interviews with industry figures, and fresh archival scrutiny.”
—Matthew Kirschenbaum, author of Track Changes and Bitstreams
W. Patrick Mccray
W. Patrick McCray is Professor of History at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Originally trained as a scientist, he is the author or editor of eight books. He is an elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the American Physical Society (APS).
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