[SIGCIS-Members] Books on Women in Computing

[Brian Randell]

Hi:

We are planning to provide a permanent display in our School of Computing, in a prominent location that will be readily visible to our undergraduate students in particular, of published books on Women in Computing. The hope is that this might help to redress the imbalance in the students’ popular perception of computing pioneers as being an almost entirely male crew.

I attach below a first list of contenders (other than Ada Lovelace) for space in this display – comments, both positive and negative, on this list will be welcome. (Ada Lovelace will of course be well-represented – however I’ve already had detailed advice on which of the plethora of works on Ada to include, so I’m keen to make sure that other worthy contenders for display space are not accidently omitted. At present it is undecided whether to include, and if so whether to have a separate set of books on, Women in Code-Breaking – see the presently-separate second list below, on which comments are also sought.)

I’m looking for biographies, autobiographies, and good scholarly accounts on the contribution of women to the computing world, not books aimed at young school pupils. The plan is that copies of all the books on display will also be available for borrowing from the University Library.

My apologies, especially to the authors,  for any accidental egregious omissions from these lists!

Season’s Greetings

Brian Randell


Books on Women in Computing
(other than Ada Lovelace)


Janet Abbate. Recoding Gender: Women's Changing Participation in Computing. (2017).
   https://www.amazon.co.uk/Recoding-Gender-History-Computing-Abbate/dp/0262534533

Crystal Bennes, Klara and the Bomb (2022).
   https://www.amazon.co.uk/Klara-Bomb-Crystal-Bennes/dp/9492051826

Kurt W. W. Beyer. Grace Hopper and the Invention of the Information Age, (2012).
   https://www.amazon.co.uk/Invention-Information-Lemelson-Studies-Innovation/dp/0262517264

Claire L. Evans. Broad Band: The Untold Story of the Women Who Made the Internet, (2020).
   https://www.amazon.co.uk/Broad-Band-Untold-Story-Internet/dp/0593329449/

David Alan Grier. When Computers Were Human. (2007)
   https://www.amazon.co.uk/When-Computers-Human-David-Grier/dp/0691133824

Kathy Kleiman. Proving Ground: The Untold Story of the Six Women Who Programmed the World’s First Modern Computer, (2022).
   https://www.amazon.co.uk/Proving-Ground-Untold-Programmed-Computer/dp/178738862X

Mark Jones Lorenzo. Everlasting Code: The Education of Grace Hopper and the History of COBOL, (2021).
   https://www.amazon.co.uk/Everlasting-Code-Education-Business-Oriented-Language/dp/B09CRQP1Q6

Richard Rhodes . Hedy's Folly: The Life and Breakthrough Inventions of Hedy Lamarr, the Most Beautiful Woman in the World. (@012)
   https://www.amazon.com/Hedys-Folly-Breakthrough-Inventions-Beautiful/dp/0307742954

Jon T Rickman and Kim D Todd. Pioneer Programmer: Jean Jennings Bartik & the Computer That Changed the World. (2013)
   https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pioneer-Programmer-Jennings-Computer-Changed/dp/1612480861

Carl J Schneider. Grace Murray Hopper: Working to create the future. (1998).
   https://www.amazon.co.uk/Title-Murray-Hopper-Working-create/dp/1571636064

Dame Stephanie Shirley. Let It Go: My Extraordinary Story - From Refugee to Entrepreneur to Philanthropist. (2019).
   https://www.amazon.co.uk/Let-Go-Extraordinary-Entrepreneur-Philanthropist/dp/0241395496

Kathleen Broom Williams. Grace Hopper: Admiral of the Cyber Sea, (2013).
   https://www.amazon.co.uk/Grace-Hopper-Admiral-Cyber-Sea/dp/1591149789


Books on Women in Code-Breaking


Jason Fagone. The Woman Who Smashed Codes: A True Story of Love, Spies, and the Unlikely Heroine Who Outwitted America's Enemies (2017).
   https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0062430483/

Peter Hore. Bletchley Park's Secret Source: Churchill's Wrens and the Y Service in World War II, (2021).
   https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bletchleys-Secret-Source-Wrens-Y-Service/dp/1784385816

Liza Mundy. Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers of World War II. (2018).
   https://www.amazon.co.uk/Code-Girls-Untold-American-Breakers/dp/0316352543

Patricia Owtram and Jean Owtram. Codebreaking Sisters: Our Secret War. (2020).
   https://www.amazon.co.uk/Codebreaking-Sisters-Our-Secret-War/dp/1913406059

Mair Russell-Jones and Gethin Russell-Jones. My Secret Life in Hut Six: One Woman's Experiences At Bletchley Park, (2014).
   https://www.amazon.co.uk/Secret-Life-Hut-Six-Experiences/dp/0745956645

Jan Slimming. Codebreaker Girls: A Secret Life at Bletchley Park. (2021)
   https://www.amazon.co.uk/Codebreaker-Girls-Secret-Life-Bletchley/dp/1526784114

Jan Slimming. The Secret Life of an American Codebreaker: Codebreaker Girls. (2022)
   https://www.amazon.co.uk/Secret-Life-American-Codebreaker-Girls-ebook/dp/B09P47QVDB

Michael Smith. The Debs of Bletchley Park. (2015).
   https://www.amazon.co.uk/Debs-Bletchley-Park-Michael-Smith/dp/1781313881

Betty Webb and Kerry Howard. No More Secrets: My Part in Codebreaking at Bletchley Park and the Pentagon. (2023).
   https://www.amazon.co.uk/No-More-Secrets-Codebreaking-Bletchley/dp/B0C43L3MVJ/

—

School of Computing, Newcastle University, 1 Science Square, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE4 5TG
EMAIL = Brian.Randell at ncl.ac.uk   PHONE = +44 191 208 7923
URL =  https://www.ncl.ac.uk/computing/staff/profile/brianrandell.html
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