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

An interesting book about a computing pioneer I had never heard of. The Author weaves John Atanasoff's computer creation story in parallel with the other computer creators of the time: Alan Turing, Tommy Flowers, Max Newman, John Mauchly, Presper Eckert, Konrad Zeus and John von Neumann. She shows most of these individuals had a strong need to solve some heavy calculation problems. These individuals stood out also as very creative people with traits like: self-confidence, independence, high energy, willingness to take risks, above-average intelligence, openness to experience, and preference for complexity. Including a key component of a creative mind, what R. Keith Sawyer's (creativity expert) calls "problem finding"—that is, the show more ability to productively formulate a problem so that the terms of the problem lead to a solution.
John Atanasoff certainly appears to have been the first to get a computer going in the USA, neck and neck with Konrad Zeus in Germany. But he is visited by John Mauchly who understands more than John realises. With WWII intervening and patients not being file, it is only resolved years later in 1973 that John Atanasoff ideas had been used in the UNIVAC. The book runs out of steam at the end getting too involved with the patent dispute and court case. show less

So far (p. 28) Smiley has asserted a couple of head-scratchers: "The measurement required by an analog calculator would be replaced by counting. Since this is similar to the way a child counts on his fingers, this came to be known as digital calculation."

This is more the early cross-pollination that led to computers rather than the biography of a single man; the title is misleading but the book is interesting so that's okay.

The Man Who Invented The Computer is not so much about John Vincent Atanasoff as it is about the development of the computer in general. In that grain of thinking, the book takes us to a number of computer pioneers and their lives. So the book starts with Atanasoff and Clifford Berry, but as it goes on it also talks about Alan Turing, Tommy Flowers, the guys that developed ENIAC, Howard Aiken, and Konrad Zuse. Zuse seems to have a claim to the earliest working prototype, but Atanasoff's model did things that the others couldn't. Since this is about the development of early computers, it also talks about World War II a lot.

The main reason early pioneers of the computer even built computing machines was to reduce the number of tedious show more calculations required in higher mathematics. For the case of John Vincent Atanasoff, it was for his Doctoral Thesis. He had to calculate using mechanical calculators that couldn't multiply or divide. I couldn't imagine putting up with something like that, but Atanasoff did one better and figured he would build his own. So after he got his doctorate he looked into building his own computing device. Zuse had a different background in that he was more into art, but he built computers for the same reason.

It seems a lot of companies like IBM were trapped in the idea that Binary wouldn't work or would be too complicated. This was why early calculators were so primitive and unusable.

This book was pretty interesting, and it did tell me some stuff I didn't know. show less

Interesting story, but the focus was upon the legal and patent issues involved with proving Atanastoff to be the first inventor of a working computer. One gets lost between all the maneuvering of the principals and companies. The best part of the book is a clear exposition of the basic principles of a digital computer.

Jane Smiley has written a facinating account of the early history of computer developments. While she has focused on the story of John Atansoff, the whole history of these early inventors, particularly in US, is interwoven. She does an excellent job of portraying the various personalities for each of them are real "characters".
This book does well in answering the question, who invented the computer? While most students are aware the ancient Babbage computing engine and the most war ENIAC, the real answer to this question is not a simple one. Nearly simultaneous developments, both theoretical and practical, were underway in Iowa (John Atanasoff), England (Alan Turing), and Germany (Konrad Zuse). Then, as Jane explains so well, all of show more these efforts were over come by the events of World War II.
In the US, John Atanasoff's efforts were side tracked by is assignment to other research efforts. World War II also brings John von Neumann and the John Mauchly/ J. Presper Eckhart (ENIAC) team to the forefront. In England, Alan Turing becomes a principal in the use of computers at Bletchley Park to break the Enigma code. Also, in England, we see the more advanced Colossus computer developed by Thomas Flowers (though less well known) to break the more complex Tunny used by German high command. Finally, in Germany, Konrad Zuse is overcoming war time shortages, bureaucratic indifference, and finally Allied bombing raids to continue his developments.
In summary, Jane Smiley has succeeded in clarifying some the most important events of the computer's early history and its colorful characters. show less

Wonderful clarification of the actual origins of the first computer and the decades long fight to credit the actual inventor.

not due out until October