The Computer Boys Take Over: Computers, Programmers, and the Politics of Technical Expertise (History of Computing) - Softcover

Ensmenger, Nathan L.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0262517965 ISBN 13: 9780262517966

Publisher: The MIT Press, 2012

Synopsis

This is a book about the computer revolution of the mid-twentieth century and the people who made it possible. Unlike most histories of computing, it is not a book about machines, inventors, or entrepreneurs. Instead, it tells the story of the vast but largely anonymous legions of computer specialists--programmers, systems analysts, and other software developers--who transformed the electronic computer from a scientific curiosity into the defining technology of the modern era. As the systems that they built became increasingly powerful and ubiquitous, these specialists became the focus of a series of critiques of the social and organizational impact of electronic computing. To many of their contemporaries, it seemed the "computer boys" were taking over, not just in the corporate setting, but also in government, politics, and society in general. In The Computer Boys Take Over, Nathan Ensmenger traces the rise to power of the computer expert in modern American society. His rich

About this title

About the Author

Nathan Ensmenger is Associate Professor in the School of Informatics and Computing at Indiana University.

Edition details

• Publisher: The MIT Press
• Publication date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0262517965
• ISBN 13: 9780262517966
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 336
• Editor: Aspray William