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++One of the Best Single-Volume Data References on U.S. Digital Computing Systems (1961) ++ Martin H. Weik. A Third Survey of Domestic Electronic Digital Computing Systems. Ballistic Research Laboratories, BRL Report No. 1115, March 1961, Department of the Army, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. 10.75"x 8.5", 1131pp., approximately 350 illustrations (the vast majority being photos) depicting each of the 272 systems in the survey. FIRST EDITION. Bound in the original thick wrappers, held together with a two-hole punch metal gatherer, with a cloth-backed tape covering the 3"-wide spine. Well-used but not a worn copy. Overall condition grade: Very good, (6-7/10). [++] This is one of the best single-volume assessments and reviews of U.S.-produced digital computer systems that I have seen over all these years it is a categorical standard reference tool like the Norman & Hook "Origins of Cyberspace" and is a no-doubt go-to source of information. [++] The work is massive and comprehensive and reviews 272 computers (covered in pp 14-1022). Some of the computers covered include the ALWACII, BIZMAC II, Burroughs (16 models). CYCLONE, DIANA, EDVAC, ELECOM, IBM (30 models), MANIAC (multiple), ORDVAC, UNIVAC (already with 20 different models) and numerous others. For its size and scope the book is concise and covers a lot of ground with elegance aided by displaying info in list form according to (generally) 13 different categories making for excellent summations of each computer. The categories covered for nearly every computer entry include: applications; numerical system; arithmetic unit; storage; input; output; circuit elements; power and weight; production record (how many of the machines were built); cost and price and rental ($5k/mo for the IBM 701 for example); personnel required (9 per 8-hour shift on the IBM 701); installations (how many are functioning); reliability; and additional features and remarks. [++] On pp 1038-1084 is the 15-item "Table" section listing manufacturers of computing systems; then the VERY interesting table of the quantity of computing systems operating or manufactured (for about 200 systems); word length; arithmetic operation time; access time of high speed storage units; capacity of high speed storage units; capacity of magnetic drum; approximate cost of computer systems. Pp 1090-1116 rounds out the survey, followed by a distribution list to the end (pp 1117-1131). Again, this is just a fantastic resource. [++] * NOTES: The Ballistic Research Laboratory (BRL, begun during WWI and rapidly expanded at the beginning of WWII) was an enormously important research center at Aberdeen Proving Grounds (Maryland) and probably best remembered as the birthplace of the ENIAC. "It was a research facility under the U.S. Army Ordnance Corps and later the U.S. Army Materiel Command that specialized in ballistics as well as vulnerability and lethality analysis. Situated at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, BRL served as a major Army center for research and development in technologies related to weapon phenomena, armor, accelerator physics, and high-speed computing" (Wikipedia) and was folded into other research stations in 1992. [++] Martin H. Weik (1922-2007). "Weik served in World War II, the Korean War, and the Active Army Reserve, reaching the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He graduated from the ccny, Columbia University, and the George Washington University, where he received the degree of Doctor of Science. He served 30 years as a civilian electronic scientist with the U. S. Army Office of Research and Development, helping to develop early scientific electronic computers, such as the ENIAC, EDVAC, ORDVAC, and BRLESC."-- (Source: Robinson Funeral Home obituary) In addition to a number of papers and other books, Weik wrote a relatively early history of the creation of the ENIAC in "Ordnance," vol 45, 1961.
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