An Annotated Timeline of Operations Research: An Informal History

An Annotated Timeline of Operations Research: An Informal History recounts the evolution of Operations Research (OR) as a new science - the science of decision making. Arising from the urgent operational issues of World War II, the philosophy and methodology of OR has permeated the resolution of decision problems in business, industry, and government. The Timeline chronicles the history of OR in the form of self-contained, expository entries. Each entry presents a concise explanation of the events and people under discussion, and provides key sources where further relevant information can be obtained. In addition, books and papers that have influenced the development of OR or helped to educate the first generations of OR academics and practitioners are cited throughout the book. Starting in 1564 with seminal ideas that form the precursors of OR, the Timeline traces the key ideas and events of OR through 2004.
The Timeline should interest anyone involved in OR -researchers, practitioners, academics, and, especially, students - who wish to learn how OR came into being. Further, the scope and expository style of the Timeline should make it of value to the general reader interested in the development of science and technology in the last half of the twentieth century.

From the reviews:

"This book describes the history of OR in chronological order. ??? The text includes many pictures ??? . Also, a lot of references are given for further reading. ??? We should thank Gass and Assad for this book. It must have been a huge amount of work to collect all the information ??? . For writing a book like this, one must have courage, because it is so easy to oversee something ??? . I am absolutely sure that the authors are doing their best to cover OR history that happened worldwide." (Alf Kimms, OR-News Gesellschaft f??r Operations Research (GOR) e.V., Iss. 24, Juli, 2005)

"The authors ask for the kind of events which have combined to form OR, as a science that aids in the resolution of human decision-making processes. Thus, the entries in An Annotated Timeline of Operations Research try to capture some of the key events of this pre-history. ??? They wanted it to be historically correct, offer the reader a concise explanation of the event under discussion, and to be a source document." (Roland Fahrion, Zentralblatt MATH, Vol. 1060 (11), 2005)

"This book presents in great detail events from the middle of the 16th century to the present that influenced the development of operations research (OR). ??? an invaluable collection with carefully crafted references that should be of great interest to all people interested in applied mathematics. ??? This book is an excellent source of references for any student of the subject." (Luis Vargas, SIAM Review, Vol. 48 (1), 2006)

"I am impressed and do recommend this book to all who are interested in the origins ofoperations research (OR) and the mathematical sciences and their exciting developments. The work can also be viewed as an extensively annotated photo album ??? . It must have been extremely painstaking to collect the photos, and without a doubt the professions will delight in having access to them." (Kenneth O. Kortanek, Mathematical Reviews, Issue 2005 g)

"This book is an interesting and original expose of the development of principal ideas pertaining to operations research. ??? The interesting style of presentation, including almost 200 photographs of key figures in operations research, makes the book a very enjoyable reading. At the same time, the book is a very valuable resource of information regarding virtually any subject area pertaining to operation research. ??? this is wonderful book that I highly recommend to readers of this journal." (George J. Klir, International Journal of General Systems, Vol. 34 (3), 2005)

From the reviews:

"This book describes the history of OR in chronological order. a ] The text includes many pictures a ] . Also, a lot of references are given for further reading. a ] We should thank Gass and Assad for this book. It must have been a huge amount of work to collect all the information a ] . For writing a book like this, one must have courage, because it is so easy to oversee something a ] . I am absolutely sure that the authors are doing their best to cover OR history that happened worldwide." (Alf Kimms, OR-News Gesellschaft fA1/4r Operations Research (GOR) e.V., Iss. 24, Juli, 2005)

"The authors ask for the kind of events which have combined to form OR, as a science that aids in the resolution of human decision-making processes. Thus, the entries in An Annotated Timeline of Operations Research try to capture some of the key events of this pre-history. a ] They wanted it to be historically correct, offer the reader a concise explanation of the event under discussion, and to be a source document." (Roland Fahrion, Zentralblatt MATH, Vol. 1060 (11), 2005)

"This book presents in great detail events from the middle of the 16th century to the present that influenced the development of operations research (OR). a ] an invaluable collection with carefully crafted references that should be of great interest to all people interested in applied mathematics. a ] This book is an excellent source of references for any student of the subject." (Luis Vargas, SIAM Review, Vol. 48 (1), 2006)

"I am impressed and do recommend this book to all who are interested in the origins of operations research (OR) and the mathematical sciences and their exciting developments. Thework can also be viewed as an extensively annotated photo album a ] . It must have been extremely painstaking to collect the photos, and without a doubt the professions will delight in having access to them." (Kenneth O. Kortanek, Mathematical Reviews, Issue 2005 g)

"This book is an interesting and original expose of the development of principal ideas pertaining to operations research. a ] The interesting style of presentation, including almost 200 photographs of key figures in operations research, makes the book a very enjoyable reading. At the same time, the book is a very valuable resource of information regarding virtually any subject area pertaining to operation research. a ] this is wonderful book that I highly recommend to readers of this journal." (George J. Klir, International Journal of General Systems, Vol. 34 (3), 2005)