Not to throw yet another title at an already overflowing list but Tara Abraham's biography of Warren McCulloch "Rebel Genius" is quite excellent and well worth a read. Also, Helene Mialet's "Hawking Incorporated" can be read really usefully as a new method for doing biography. Jeff On Fri, Sep 4, 2020 at 1:25 PM Ceruzzi, Paul <CeruzziP@si.edu> wrote:
Sorry if this response is too much. There are a lot of biographies about computer pioneers, but less so "computer scientists." I've left off autobiographies & memoirs but can supply a list if you wish. The following biographies tend to skew older, which is fine with me. Warning: the quality does vary:
Paul Ceruzzi ______________________________
Aspray
William
John von Neumann and the Origins of Modern Computing
Austrian
Geoffrey
Herman Hollerith: Forgotten Giant of Information Processing
Belden,
Thomas and Marva
Lengthening Shadow, the: the life of Thomas J, Watson
Berlin
Leslie
Man behind the microchip, the: Robert Noyce and the Invention of Silicon Valley
Buxton
H.W.
Memoir of the Life and Labours of the Late Charles Babbage ESQ. F.R.S.
Cohen
I. Bernard
Howard Aiken: Portrait of a Computer Pioneer
Berg
Christian
Heinz Nixdorf: Eine Biographie [in German]
Hodges
Andrew
Alan Turing: The enigma: the extraordinary story of the brilliant scientist…
Hyman
Anthony
Charles Babbage: Pioneer of the Computer
Macrae
Norman
John von Neumann: The Scientific Genius Who Pioneered the Modern Computer, Game Theory, Nuclear Deterrence, and Much More
Manes
Stephen
Gates: How Microsoft's Mogul Reinvented an Industry - and Made Himself the Richest Man in America
Mollenhoff
Clark R.
Atanasoff: Forgotten Father of the Computer
Reid
Constance
Hilbert
Rodgers
William
Think: A Biography of the Watsons and IBM
Smiley
Jane
The Man Who Invented the Computer: The Biography of John Atanasoff, Digital Pioneer
Toole
Betty Alexandra
Ada: The Enchantress of Numbers - Prophet of the Computer Age
Van Dormael
Armand
Heinz Nixdorf: A German Computer Pioneer
Wallace
James
Hard Drive: Bill Gates and the Making of the Microsoft Empire
Zachary
G. Pascal
Endless Frontier: Vannevar Bush, Engineer of the American Century
------------------------------ *From:* Members <members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org> on behalf of Troy Astarte <Troy.Astarte@newcastle.ac.uk> *Sent:* Friday, September 4, 2020 9:06 AM *To:* members <members@sigcis.org> *Subject:* Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Request for biographies
*External Email - Exercise Caution* Dear all,
Very many thanks to everyone who has sent suggestions, I’ve got a great reading list! I’ve already had a look at a few of them, and there’s some high quality work indeed. The only further question I would have is whether there are biographies with a higher technical content? Perhaps that just isn’t common in biographies?
Best,
Troy Astarte
School of Computing Newcastle University
On 3 Sep 2020, at 12:31, Troy Astarte <Troy.Astarte@newcastle.ac.uk> wrote:
Dear SIG-CIS,
What is your favourite biography of a scientist or mathematician? I’m particularly interested in modern subjects and those who worked in computing/computer science. Ideally the book would cover the subject’s work in a reasonable level of technical detail as well as their life and the broader context in which they lived and worked.
I ask because I am considering applying for funding for an essentially biographical project on a computer scientist and I would like to read some (more) biographies first.
Best,
Troy Astarte
School of Computing Newcastle University
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