Severo Ornstein's memoir "Computing in the Middle Ages -- A view from the trenches, 1955-1983". Available publicly at the Computer History Museum. https://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/102785079 His journey goes from Whirlwind to TX-2 to LINC to ARPANET to Durado to Mockingbird. At least look at the annotated Table of Contents and read the Preface to see what you'd be missing to not read his well written story.
Thanks - this is some wonderful reading. For example, the Bob Taylor portion and the birth of the ARPANET and the ALTO computer nicely complements other books such as Leslie Berlin's *Troublemakers*. Thanks, Brian Berg On Sat, Sep 5, 2020 at 3:28 AM David Walden <dave.walden.family@gmail.com> wrote:
Severo Ornstein's memoir "Computing in the Middle Ages -- A view from the trenches, 1955-1983".
Available publicly at the Computer History Museum. https://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/102785079
His journey goes from Whirlwind to TX-2 to LINC to ARPANET to Durado to Mockingbird. At least look at the annotated Table of Contents and read the Preface to see what you'd be missing to not read his well written story. _______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org
Feels like someone should write up a historiographical paper on IT bios for an Annals article. Looks like the bib for such a project has now been created. Someone should raise their hand and do it. Jim On Sat, Sep 5, 2020 at 9:44 AM Brian Berg <brianberg@gmail.com> wrote:
Thanks - this is some wonderful reading. For example, the Bob Taylor portion and the birth of the ARPANET and the ALTO computer nicely complements other books such as Leslie Berlin's *Troublemakers*.
Thanks, Brian Berg
On Sat, Sep 5, 2020 at 3:28 AM David Walden <dave.walden.family@gmail.com> wrote:
Severo Ornstein's memoir "Computing in the Middle Ages -- A view from the trenches, 1955-1983".
Available publicly at the Computer History Museum. https://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/102785079
His journey goes from Whirlwind to TX-2 to LINC to ARPANET to Durado to Mockingbird. At least look at the annotated Table of Contents and read the Preface to see what you'd be missing to not read his well written story. _______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org
_______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org
-- James W. Cortada Senior Research Fellow Charles Babbage Institute University of Minnesota jcortada@umn.edu 608-274-6382
It’s a wonderful book, and thank you to Severo for allowing it to be publicly accessible! Severo also did an oral history <https://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/102738018> with us, as did Dave Walden and several of the other folks being mentioned in this thread. Best, Marc Marc Weber <http://www.computerhistory.org/staff/Marc,Weber/> | marc@webhistory.org | +1 415 282 6868 | Zoom 901 292 1071 Curatorial Director, Internet History Program Computer History Museum, 1401 N Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View CA 94043 computerhistory.org/nethistory | Co-founder, Web History Center and Project
On Sep 5, 2020, at 07:44, Brian Berg <brianberg@gmail.com> wrote:
Thanks - this is some wonderful reading. For example, the Bob Taylor portion and the birth of the ARPANET and the ALTO computer nicely complements other books such as Leslie Berlin's Troublemakers.
Thanks, Brian Berg
On Sat, Sep 5, 2020 at 3:28 AM David Walden <dave.walden.family@gmail.com <mailto:dave.walden.family@gmail.com>> wrote: Severo Ornstein's memoir "Computing in the Middle Ages -- A view from the trenches, 1955-1983".
Available publicly at the Computer History Museum. https://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/102785079 <https://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/102785079> His journey goes from Whirlwind to TX-2 to LINC to ARPANET to Durado to Mockingbird. At least look at the annotated Table of Contents and read the Preface to see what you'd be missing to not read his well written story.
_______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org <http://sigcis.org/>, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ <http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/> and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org <http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org>_______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org
Marc Weber <http://www.computerhistory.org/staff/Marc,Weber/> | marc@webhistory.org | +1 415 282 6868 Internet History Program Curatorial Director, Computer History Museum 1401 N Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View CA 94043 computerhistory.org/nethistory <http://computerhistory.org/nethistory> Co-founder, Web History Center and Project, webhistory.org
It’s a wonderful book, and thank you to Severo for making it publicly accessible! Severo also did an oral history <https://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/102738018> with us, as did Dave Walden and several of the other folks being mentioned in this thread. Best, Marc Marc Weber <http://www.computerhistory.org/staff/Marc,Weber/> | marc@webhistory.org | +1 415 282 6868 | Zoom 901 292 1071 Curatorial Director, Internet History Program Computer History Museum, 1401 N Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View CA 94043 computerhistory.org/nethistory | Co-founder, Web History Center and Project
On Sep 5, 2020, at 07:44, Brian Berg <brianberg@gmail.com> wrote:
Thanks - this is some wonderful reading. For example, the Bob Taylor portion and the birth of the ARPANET and the ALTO computer nicely complements other books such as Leslie Berlin's Troublemakers.
Thanks, Brian Berg
On Sat, Sep 5, 2020 at 3:28 AM David Walden <dave.walden.family@gmail.com <mailto:dave.walden.family@gmail.com>> wrote: Severo Ornstein's memoir "Computing in the Middle Ages -- A view from the trenches, 1955-1983".
Available publicly at the Computer History Museum. https://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/102785079 <https://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/102785079> His journey goes from Whirlwind to TX-2 to LINC to ARPANET to Durado to Mockingbird. At least look at the annotated Table of Contents and read the Preface to see what you'd be missing to not read his well written story.
_______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org <http://sigcis.org/>, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ <http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/> and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org <http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org>_______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org
Marc Weber <http://www.computerhistory.org/staff/Marc,Weber/> | marc@webhistory.org | +1 415 282 6868 Internet History Program Curatorial Director, Computer History Museum 1401 N Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View CA 94043 computerhistory.org/nethistory <http://computerhistory.org/nethistory> Co-founder, Web History Center and Project, webhistory.org
Here are some autobiographies / memoirs: Paul Ceruzzi _________________________________ Allen Paul Idea Man 2011 Portfolio/Penguin Bartik Jean Jennings Pioneer Programmer: Jean Jennings Bartik and the Computer that changed the world 2013 Truman State University Press Beranek Leo Riding the Waves: a life in sound, science, and industry 2008 MIT Berners-Lee Tim Weaving the Web 1999 Harper Getting Ivan A. All in a Lifetime: Science in the defense of democracy 1989 New York Grosch Herbert R.J. Computer: Bit slices from a life 1991 Novato, CA Hardy G.H. A Mathematician's Apology 1976 London House Charles H. Permission Denied: Odyssey of an Intrapreneur 2012 Menlo Park, CA Lukoff Herman
From Dits to Bits…: A personal history of the electronic computer 1979 Portland, OR Mims Forrest M. Siliconnections: Coming of Age in the Electronic Era 1986 New York Morse Philip M. In at the Beginnings: A Physicist's Life 1977 Cambridge Ornstein Severo M. Computing in the Middle Ages: A View From the Trenches 1955-1983 2002 Osborne Adam Hypergrowth: The Rise and Fall of Osborne Computer Corporation 1984 Berkeley, CA Torvalds Linus Just For Fun: The Story of an Accidental Revolutionary 2001 New York Ulam S.M. Adventures of a Mathematician 1976 New York Watson Thomas J. Jr. Father, Son & Co.: My Life at IBM and Beyond 1991 New York Wiener Norbert Ex-Prodigy: My Childhood and Youth 1966 Cambridge Wiener Norbert I Am a Mathematician: The Later Life of a Prodigy 1973 Cambridge Wilkes Maurice Memoirs of a Computer Pioneer 1985 Cambridge Zuse Konrad Computer - My Life, the 1993 Berlin [And two anthologies] Lee J.A.N. Computer Pioneers 1995 Los Alamitos, CA Northrup Mary Collective Biographies: American Computer Pioneers 1998 Springfield, NJ
________________________________ From: Members <members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org> on behalf of Marc Weber <marc@webhistory.org> Sent: Saturday, September 5, 2020 7:07 PM To: Brian Berg <brianberg@gmail.com> Cc: members@sigcis org <members@sigcis.org> Subject: Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Request for biographies External Email - Exercise Caution It’s a wonderful book, and thank you to Severo for making it publicly accessible! Severo also did an oral history<https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.computerhistory.org%2Fcollections%2Fcatalog%2F102738018&data=02%7C01%7Cceruzzip%40si.edu%7C0379520e2895493fb81508d851f082bb%7C989b5e2a14e44efe93b78cdd5fc5d11c%7C0%7C0%7C637349440713900806&sdata=Btqz%2BvNlbboh0b8251O9yMe1wQbaM0%2BmnezFVE2R1nM%3D&reserved=0> with us, as did Dave Walden and several of the other folks being mentioned in this thread. Best, Marc Marc Weber<https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.computerhistory.org%2Fstaff%2FMarc%2CWeber%2F&data=02%7C01%7Cceruzzip%40si.edu%7C0379520e2895493fb81508d851f082bb%7C989b5e2a14e44efe93b78cdd5fc5d11c%7C0%7C0%7C637349440713900806&sdata=oms%2BzIHiEviZlHessM7lnHtz3545ET83ICcT3w1l01A%3D&reserved=0> | marc@webhistory.org<mailto:marc@webhistory.org> | +1 415 282 6868 | Zoom 901 292 1071 Curatorial Director, Internet History Program Computer History Museum, 1401 N Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View CA 94043 computerhistory.org/nethistory<https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fcomputerhistory.org%2Fnethistory&data=02%7C01%7Cceruzzip%40si.edu%7C0379520e2895493fb81508d851f082bb%7C989b5e2a14e44efe93b78cdd5fc5d11c%7C0%7C0%7C637349440713910804&sdata=eWP7LLDYwcnQ6NakxIc1NIle7gvmpVY7YQXYoHcIbo4%3D&reserved=0> | Co-founder, Web History Center and Project On Sep 5, 2020, at 07:44, Brian Berg <brianberg@gmail.com<mailto:brianberg@gmail.com>> wrote: Thanks - this is some wonderful reading. For example, the Bob Taylor portion and the birth of the ARPANET and the ALTO computer nicely complements other books such as Leslie Berlin's Troublemakers. Thanks, Brian Berg On Sat, Sep 5, 2020 at 3:28 AM David Walden <dave.walden.family@gmail.com<mailto:dave.walden.family@gmail.com>> wrote: Severo Ornstein's memoir "Computing in the Middle Ages -- A view from the trenches, 1955-1983". Available publicly at the Computer History Museum. https://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/102785079<https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.computerhistory.org%2Fcollections%2Fcatalog%2F102785079&data=02%7C01%7Cceruzzip%40si.edu%7C0379520e2895493fb81508d851f082bb%7C989b5e2a14e44efe93b78cdd5fc5d11c%7C0%7C0%7C637349440713920794&sdata=sK3Z%2F3J6vUUwLp9nfF9jrTnj2gu9HChY%2BVph8enYJNc%3D&reserved=0> His journey goes from Whirlwind to TX-2 to LINC to ARPANET to Durado to Mockingbird. At least look at the annotated Table of Contents and read the Preface to see what you'd be missing to not read his well written story. _______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org<https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsigcis.org%2F&data=02%7C01%7Cceruzzip%40si.edu%7C0379520e2895493fb81508d851f082bb%7C989b5e2a14e44efe93b78cdd5fc5d11c%7C0%7C0%7C637349440713920794&sdata=akXFVJQp9GUDlw23uyGekQuy2sRgXwIG2zKVEHnFug4%3D&reserved=0>, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/<https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Flists.sigcis.org%2Fpipermail%2Fmembers-sigcis.org%2F&data=02%7C01%7Cceruzzip%40si.edu%7C0379520e2895493fb81508d851f082bb%7C989b5e2a14e44efe93b78cdd5fc5d11c%7C0%7C0%7C637349440713930787&sdata=%2F6ttf5A9bA0GMSNI%2Fu9MC7qVe1VA9UOW8yH6oYd13hM%3D&reserved=0> and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org<https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Flists.sigcis.org%2Flistinfo.cgi%2Fmembers-sigcis.org&data=02%7C01%7Cceruzzip%40si.edu%7C0379520e2895493fb81508d851f082bb%7C989b5e2a14e44efe93b78cdd5fc5d11c%7C0%7C0%7C637349440713930787&sdata=dUHcn0lMBbcbLPq9%2B8Uxbs0qySK9hAFPs7HFEmNKBsM%3D&reserved=0> _______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org<https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsigcis.org%2F&data=02%7C01%7Cceruzzip%40si.edu%7C0379520e2895493fb81508d851f082bb%7C989b5e2a14e44efe93b78cdd5fc5d11c%7C0%7C0%7C637349440713940785&sdata=p%2Fvd858N%2FOSwnlYVnqk9uqkSHm9QcI7WRQWknY2KDRs%3D&reserved=0>, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/<https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Flists.sigcis.org%2Fpipermail%2Fmembers-sigcis.org%2F&data=02%7C01%7Cceruzzip%40si.edu%7C0379520e2895493fb81508d851f082bb%7C989b5e2a14e44efe93b78cdd5fc5d11c%7C0%7C0%7C637349440713950782&sdata=miVbgvbgT9EV4wGjNx0ne%2FE9gmPrOdy8Kb5C2%2BOAT2E%3D&reserved=0> and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org<https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Flists.sigcis.org%2Flistinfo.cgi%2Fmembers-sigcis.org&data=02%7C01%7Cceruzzip%40si.edu%7C0379520e2895493fb81508d851f082bb%7C989b5e2a14e44efe93b78cdd5fc5d11c%7C0%7C0%7C637349440713950782&sdata=0FGsMzi77eeypy8VZp6CYNczJlN3hfm%2BB6eAhQ58bPw%3D&reserved=0> Marc Weber<https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.computerhistory.org%2Fstaff%2FMarc%2CWeber%2F&data=02%7C01%7Cceruzzip%40si.edu%7C0379520e2895493fb81508d851f082bb%7C989b5e2a14e44efe93b78cdd5fc5d11c%7C0%7C0%7C637349440713960778&sdata=x3Yw494MtLxUbB1wAnlsv8xXf219GNu5d10%2FCnq0eeU%3D&reserved=0> | marc@webhistory.org<mailto:marc@webhistory.org> | +1 415 282 6868 Internet History Program Curatorial Director, Computer History Museum 1401 N Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View CA 94043 computerhistory.org/nethistory<https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fcomputerhistory.org%2Fnethistory&data=02%7C01%7Cceruzzip%40si.edu%7C0379520e2895493fb81508d851f082bb%7C989b5e2a14e44efe93b78cdd5fc5d11c%7C0%7C0%7C637349440713960778&sdata=2mv%2BbC1LYfWWw28TOXXEyjw%2FaN1Nv%2Fbe2U4MzPWVO78%3D&reserved=0> Co-founder, Web History Center and Project, webhistory.org<https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwebhistory.org%2F&data=02%7C01%7Cceruzzip%40si.edu%7C0379520e2895493fb81508d851f082bb%7C989b5e2a14e44efe93b78cdd5fc5d11c%7C0%7C0%7C637349440713970779&sdata=cL0IocDjB4gyyVqgTIcxZL2K3gN6VXBseCAUCfVCbgA%3D&reserved=0>
Greetings, all, It’s been wonderful to see this outpouring of excitement about biographies (and memoirs), reflecting their intrinsic fascination. Biographies are sometimes dismissed as subjective, celebratory, irrelevant to the broader structural issues of society, for example gender. But especially in an age of upward mobility through education, expertise, and innovation, good biographies are an extraordinary source of power for individual motivation and self-understanding. Sometimes they are indeed irritatingly celebratory, partly just because it is difficult for a biographer to stick to the research, if not inspired by the subject. But biographies and memoirs are life-stories, and at their best uncover a multitude of difficulties and solutions to the grand Tolstoyan question, “kak zhit’,” or “how to live.” Difficulties overcome in intellectual development, love, family, institutions, financial relations – or not overcome – all are grist for readers of a biography to contemplate their own lives, and to strategize for their own success and happiness. As I have seen in reading/watching life-stories with my students, diverse and upwardly mobile as they are at my state university, life-stories are among the most profound tools for self-transformation. More publicly, it is extraordinary how Ron Chernow’s wonderful, complex biography of Alexander Hamilton, reimagined also by Miranda as a musical, has inspired a generation. Dare I say that if left to men as a genre of scholarship, biographies serve especially to empower men? (and, heh-heh, to preserve the patriarchy!) Women too can learn from the lives of brilliant men, and do. But women – and all in the vast range of human gender and ethnic diversity -- historically face a variety of life-experiences not necessarily experienced by men, and so their lives are a potential source for expanding our understanding of “kak zhit’,” or how to live. And what it means to be human. And just to contradict myself, let me add that one of the most inspiring biographies I have read is James Hamilton’s A Life of Discovery, Michael Faraday, Giant of the Scientific Revolution. Hamilton is an art historian, so able to illuminate Faraday’s remarkable ability to visualize the forces of nature, despite a poor education and a distinct weakness in formal mathematics. Those of my students uncomfortable with math love that part! Hope all are having a safe, refreshing weekend, Barbara From: Members <members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org> on behalf of "Ceruzzi, Paul" <CeruzziP@si.edu> Date: Saturday, September 5, 2020 at 4:58 PM To: "members@lists.sigcis.org" <members@lists.sigcis.org> Subject: Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Request for biographies Here are some autobiographies / memoirs: Paul Ceruzzi _________________________________ Allen Paul Idea Man 2011 Portfolio/Penguin Bartik Jean Jennings Pioneer Programmer: Jean Jennings Bartik and the Computer that changed the world 2013 Truman State University Press Beranek Leo Riding the Waves: a life in sound, science, and industry 2008 MIT Berners-Lee Tim Weaving the Web 1999 Harper Getting Ivan A. All in a Lifetime: Science in the defense of democracy 1989 New York Grosch Herbert R.J. Computer: Bit slices from a life 1991 Novato, CA Hardy G.H. A Mathematician's Apology 1976 London House Charles H. Permission Denied: Odyssey of an Intrapreneur 2012 Menlo Park, CA Lukoff Herman From Dits to Bits…: A personal history of the electronic computer 1979 Portland, OR Mims Forrest M. Siliconnections: Coming of Age in the Electronic Era 1986 New York Morse Philip M. In at the Beginnings: A Physicist's Life 1977 Cambridge Ornstein Severo M. Computing in the Middle Ages: A View From the Trenches 1955-1983 2002 Osborne Adam Hypergrowth: The Rise and Fall of Osborne Computer Corporation 1984 Berkeley, CA Torvalds Linus Just For Fun: The Story of an Accidental Revolutionary 2001 New York Ulam S.M. Adventures of a Mathematician 1976 New York Watson Thomas J. Jr. Father, Son & Co.: My Life at IBM and Beyond 1991 New York Wiener Norbert Ex-Prodigy: My Childhood and Youth 1966 Cambridge Wiener Norbert I Am a Mathematician: The Later Life of a Prodigy 1973 Cambridge Wilkes Maurice Memoirs of a Computer Pioneer 1985 Cambridge Zuse Konrad Computer - My Life, the 1993 Berlin [And two anthologies] Lee J.A.N. Computer Pioneers 1995 Los Alamitos, CA Northrup Mary Collective Biographies: American Computer Pioneers 1998 Springfield, NJ ________________________________ From: Members <members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org> on behalf of Marc Weber <marc@webhistory.org> Sent: Saturday, September 5, 2020 7:07 PM To: Brian Berg <brianberg@gmail.com> Cc: members@sigcis org <members@sigcis.org> Subject: Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Request for biographies External Email - Exercise Caution It’s a wonderful book, and thank you to Severo for making it publicly accessible! Severo also did an oral history<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.computerhistory.org%2Fcollections%2Fcatalog%2F102738018&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb2bbfe2c547949ab3f8608d851f79c1c%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=s%2BHg8ecz8%2B6ofLg3%2BShRLUM4Mb5h2B0udeuCYIt1vzg%3D&reserved=0> with us, as did Dave Walden and several of the other folks being mentioned in this thread. Best, Marc Marc Weber<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.computerhistory.org%2Fstaff%2FMarc%2CWeber%2F&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb2bbfe2c547949ab3f8608d851f79c1c%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=gIjYToEkCFzlFpwC7E%2Bdr%2BnAfXMqr6ukNDu6k%2FgXH6U%3D&reserved=0> | marc@webhistory.org<mailto:marc@webhistory.org> | +1 415 282 6868 | Zoom 901 292 1071 Curatorial Director, Internet History Program Computer History Museum, 1401 N Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View CA 94043 computerhistory.org/nethistory<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fcomputerhistory.org%2Fnethistory&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb2bbfe2c547949ab3f8608d851f79c1c%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=cikY3EV9c0%2Foqter5j%2BFYPqYPI%2B%2BxaDCPKQ4rxIdZXI%3D&reserved=0> | Co-founder, Web History Center and Project On Sep 5, 2020, at 07:44, Brian Berg <brianberg@gmail.com<mailto:brianberg@gmail.com>> wrote: Thanks - this is some wonderful reading. For example, the Bob Taylor portion and the birth of the ARPANET and the ALTO computer nicely complements other books such as Leslie Berlin's Troublemakers. Thanks, Brian Berg On Sat, Sep 5, 2020 at 3:28 AM David Walden <dave.walden.family@gmail.com<mailto:dave.walden.family@gmail.com>> wrote: Severo Ornstein's memoir "Computing in the Middle Ages -- A view from the trenches, 1955-1983". Available publicly at the Computer History Museum. https://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/102785079<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.computerhistory.org%2Fcollections%2Fcatalog%2F102785079&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb2bbfe2c547949ab3f8608d851f79c1c%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=ZReuWMNKDE%2BuR0BhfbfzzhoOM8zl2WtO74%2BpMRjyArY%3D&reserved=0> His journey goes from Whirlwind to TX-2 to LINC to ARPANET to Durado to Mockingbird. At least look at the annotated Table of Contents and read the Preface to see what you'd be missing to not read his well written story. _______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsigcis.org%2F&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb2bbfe2c547949ab3f8608d851f79c1c%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=eVImHCn3lzgTsajBRNoyzyhoXkA5M9%2BG6ymhoO1v6lc%3D&reserved=0>, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Flists.sigcis.org%2Fpipermail%2Fmembers-sigcis.org%2F&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb2bbfe2c547949ab3f8608d851f79c1c%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=fTzQeJgtnkuMFGew5r8rhjWqewB84%2F06wNvsQpdq8XE%3D&reserved=0> and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Flists.sigcis.org%2Flistinfo.cgi%2Fmembers-sigcis.org&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb2bbfe2c547949ab3f8608d851f79c1c%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=gVS3%2F808np%2FyBZeDWTe3AT5MW956iy6yK0NxqudkM0Y%3D&reserved=0> _______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsigcis.org%2F&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb2bbfe2c547949ab3f8608d851f79c1c%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=eVImHCn3lzgTsajBRNoyzyhoXkA5M9%2BG6ymhoO1v6lc%3D&reserved=0>, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Flists.sigcis.org%2Fpipermail%2Fmembers-sigcis.org%2F&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb2bbfe2c547949ab3f8608d851f79c1c%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=fTzQeJgtnkuMFGew5r8rhjWqewB84%2F06wNvsQpdq8XE%3D&reserved=0> and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Flists.sigcis.org%2Flistinfo.cgi%2Fmembers-sigcis.org&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb2bbfe2c547949ab3f8608d851f79c1c%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=gVS3%2F808np%2FyBZeDWTe3AT5MW956iy6yK0NxqudkM0Y%3D&reserved=0> Marc Weber<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.computerhistory.org%2Fstaff%2FMarc%2CWeber%2F&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb2bbfe2c547949ab3f8608d851f79c1c%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=gIjYToEkCFzlFpwC7E%2Bdr%2BnAfXMqr6ukNDu6k%2FgXH6U%3D&reserved=0> | marc@webhistory.org<mailto:marc@webhistory.org> | +1 415 282 6868 Internet History Program Curatorial Director, Computer History Museum 1401 N Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View CA 94043 computerhistory.org/nethistory<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fcomputerhistory.org%2Fnethistory&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb2bbfe2c547949ab3f8608d851f79c1c%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=cikY3EV9c0%2Foqter5j%2BFYPqYPI%2B%2BxaDCPKQ4rxIdZXI%3D&reserved=0> Co-founder, Web History Center and Project, webhistory.org<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwebhistory.org%2F&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb2bbfe2c547949ab3f8608d851f79c1c%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=a6zSanZydhYIDk47zHGm5Y435jZK7diyjC6EElKT2bk%3D&reserved=0>
I would like to pipe in also to advocate for biography. I long ago came to the conclusion that the most difficult type of history to do is probably biography, which is why I never attempted to do it. So when someone writes a good biography I am in awe, especially since we need these. Bio story: Dumas Malone the great biographer of Thomas Jefferson told me in the 1960s that it was his objective to write his multi volume bio while going through the same age as Jefferson, i.e., writing about Jefferson in his '60s when Malone was in his '60s. Both lived into their '80s. He did it this way, he said, so that he could relate to such issues as their stations in life, attitude toward their prior accomplishments and their responses to the aches and pains of old age. I did not "get it" when he told this to me at my then age of 21; a half century later, I get it. But to put a fine point on his experience, he began studying biography in his '20s. On Sun, Sep 6, 2020 at 1:53 PM Barbara B Walker <bbwalker@unr.edu> wrote:
Greetings, all,
It’s been wonderful to see this outpouring of excitement about biographies (and memoirs), reflecting their intrinsic fascination. Biographies are sometimes dismissed as subjective, celebratory, irrelevant to the broader structural issues of society, for example gender. But especially in an age of upward mobility through education, expertise, and innovation, good biographies are an extraordinary source of power for individual motivation and self-understanding. Sometimes they are indeed irritatingly celebratory, partly just because it is difficult for a biographer to stick to the research, if not inspired by the subject.
But biographies and memoirs are life-stories, and at their best uncover a multitude of difficulties and solutions to the grand Tolstoyan question, “kak zhit’,” or “how to live.” Difficulties overcome in intellectual development, love, family, institutions, financial relations – or not overcome – all are grist for readers of a biography to contemplate their own lives, and to strategize for their own success and happiness. As I have seen in reading/watching life-stories with my students, diverse and upwardly mobile as they are at my state university, life-stories are among the most profound tools for self-transformation. More publicly, it is extraordinary how Ron Chernow’s wonderful, complex biography of Alexander Hamilton, reimagined also by Miranda as a musical, has inspired a generation.
Dare I say that if left to men as a genre of scholarship, biographies serve especially to empower men? (and, heh-heh, to preserve the patriarchy!) Women too can learn from the lives of brilliant men, and do. But women – and all in the vast range of human gender and ethnic diversity -- historically face a variety of life-experiences not necessarily experienced by men, and so their lives are a potential source for expanding our understanding of “kak zhit’,” or how to live. And what it means to be human.
And just to contradict myself, let me add that one of the most inspiring biographies I have read is James Hamilton’s *A Life of Discovery, Michael Faraday, Giant of the Scientific Revolution.* Hamilton is an art historian, so able to illuminate Faraday’s remarkable ability to visualize the forces of nature, despite a poor education and a distinct weakness in formal mathematics. Those of my students uncomfortable with math love that part!
Hope all are having a safe, refreshing weekend, Barbara
*From: *Members <members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org> on behalf of "Ceruzzi, Paul" <CeruzziP@si.edu> *Date: *Saturday, September 5, 2020 at 4:58 PM *To: *"members@lists.sigcis.org" <members@lists.sigcis.org> *Subject: *Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Request for biographies
Here are some autobiographies / memoirs:
Paul Ceruzzi
_________________________________
Allen
Paul
Idea Man
2011
Portfolio/Penguin
Bartik
Jean Jennings
Pioneer Programmer: Jean Jennings Bartik and the Computer that changed the world
2013
Truman State University Press
Beranek
Leo
Riding the Waves: a life in sound, science, and industry
2008
MIT
Berners-Lee
Tim
Weaving the Web
1999
Harper
Getting
Ivan A.
All in a Lifetime: Science in the defense of democracy
1989
New York
Grosch
Herbert R.J.
Computer: Bit slices from a life
1991
Novato, CA
Hardy
G.H.
A Mathematician's Apology
1976
London
House
Charles H.
Permission Denied: Odyssey of an Intrapreneur
2012
Menlo Park, CA
Lukoff
Herman
From Dits to Bits…: A personal history of the electronic computer
1979
Portland, OR
Mims
Forrest M.
Siliconnections: Coming of Age in the Electronic Era
1986
New York
Morse
Philip M.
In at the Beginnings: A Physicist's Life
1977
Cambridge
Ornstein
Severo M.
Computing in the Middle Ages: A View From the Trenches 1955-1983
2002
Osborne
Adam
Hypergrowth: The Rise and Fall of Osborne Computer Corporation
1984
Berkeley, CA
Torvalds
Linus
Just For Fun: The Story of an Accidental Revolutionary
2001
New York
Ulam
S.M.
Adventures of a Mathematician
1976
New York
Watson
Thomas J. Jr.
Father, Son & Co.: My Life at IBM and Beyond
1991
New York
Wiener
Norbert
Ex-Prodigy: My Childhood and Youth
1966
Cambridge
Wiener
Norbert
I Am a Mathematician: The Later Life of a Prodigy
1973
Cambridge
Wilkes
Maurice
Memoirs of a Computer Pioneer
1985
Cambridge
Zuse
Konrad
Computer - My Life, the
1993
Berlin
[And two anthologies]
Lee
J.A.N.
Computer Pioneers
1995
Los Alamitos, CA
Northrup
Mary
Collective Biographies: American Computer Pioneers
1998
Springfield, NJ
------------------------------
*From:* Members <members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org> on behalf of Marc Weber <marc@webhistory.org> *Sent:* Saturday, September 5, 2020 7:07 PM *To:* Brian Berg <brianberg@gmail.com> *Cc:* members@sigcis org <members@sigcis.org> *Subject:* Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Request for biographies
*External Email - Exercise Caution*
It’s a wonderful book, and thank you to Severo for making it publicly accessible!
Severo also did an oral history <https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.computerhistory.org%2Fcollections%2Fcatalog%2F102738018&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb2bbfe2c547949ab3f8608d851f79c1c%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=s%2BHg8ecz8%2B6ofLg3%2BShRLUM4Mb5h2B0udeuCYIt1vzg%3D&reserved=0> with us, as did Dave Walden and several of the other folks being mentioned in this thread.
Best, Marc
Marc Weber <https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.computerhistory.org%2Fstaff%2FMarc%2CWeber%2F&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb2bbfe2c547949ab3f8608d851f79c1c%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=gIjYToEkCFzlFpwC7E%2Bdr%2BnAfXMqr6ukNDu6k%2FgXH6U%3D&reserved=0> | marc@webhistory.org | +1 415 282 6868 | Zoom 901 292 1071
Curatorial Director, Internet History Program
Computer History Museum, 1401 N Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View CA 94043
computerhistory.org/nethistory <https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fcomputerhistory.org%2Fnethistory&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb2bbfe2c547949ab3f8608d851f79c1c%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=cikY3EV9c0%2Foqter5j%2BFYPqYPI%2B%2BxaDCPKQ4rxIdZXI%3D&reserved=0> | Co-founder, Web History Center and Project
On Sep 5, 2020, at 07:44, Brian Berg <brianberg@gmail.com> wrote:
Thanks - this is some wonderful reading. For example, the Bob Taylor portion and the birth of the ARPANET and the ALTO computer nicely complements other books such as Leslie Berlin's *Troublemakers*.
Thanks, Brian Berg
On Sat, Sep 5, 2020 at 3:28 AM David Walden <dave.walden.family@gmail.com> wrote:
Severo Ornstein's memoir "Computing in the Middle Ages -- A view from the trenches, 1955-1983".
Available publicly at the Computer History Museum. https://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/102785079 <https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.computerhistory.org%2Fcollections%2Fcatalog%2F102785079&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb2bbfe2c547949ab3f8608d851f79c1c%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=ZReuWMNKDE%2BuR0BhfbfzzhoOM8zl2WtO74%2BpMRjyArY%3D&reserved=0>
His journey goes from Whirlwind to TX-2 to LINC to ARPANET to Durado to Mockingbird. At least look at the annotated Table of Contents and read the Preface to see what you'd be missing to not read his well written story.
_______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org <https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsigcis.org%2F&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb2bbfe2c547949ab3f8608d851f79c1c%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=eVImHCn3lzgTsajBRNoyzyhoXkA5M9%2BG6ymhoO1v6lc%3D&reserved=0>, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ <https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Flists.sigcis.org%2Fpipermail%2Fmembers-sigcis.org%2F&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb2bbfe2c547949ab3f8608d851f79c1c%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=fTzQeJgtnkuMFGew5r8rhjWqewB84%2F06wNvsQpdq8XE%3D&reserved=0> and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org <https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Flists.sigcis.org%2Flistinfo.cgi%2Fmembers-sigcis.org&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb2bbfe2c547949ab3f8608d851f79c1c%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=gVS3%2F808np%2FyBZeDWTe3AT5MW956iy6yK0NxqudkM0Y%3D&reserved=0>
_______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org <https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsigcis.org%2F&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb2bbfe2c547949ab3f8608d851f79c1c%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=eVImHCn3lzgTsajBRNoyzyhoXkA5M9%2BG6ymhoO1v6lc%3D&reserved=0>, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ <https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Flists.sigcis.org%2Fpipermail%2Fmembers-sigcis.org%2F&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb2bbfe2c547949ab3f8608d851f79c1c%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=fTzQeJgtnkuMFGew5r8rhjWqewB84%2F06wNvsQpdq8XE%3D&reserved=0> and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org <https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Flists.sigcis.org%2Flistinfo.cgi%2Fmembers-sigcis.org&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb2bbfe2c547949ab3f8608d851f79c1c%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=gVS3%2F808np%2FyBZeDWTe3AT5MW956iy6yK0NxqudkM0Y%3D&reserved=0>
Marc Weber <https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.computerhistory.org%2Fstaff%2FMarc%2CWeber%2F&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb2bbfe2c547949ab3f8608d851f79c1c%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=gIjYToEkCFzlFpwC7E%2Bdr%2BnAfXMqr6ukNDu6k%2FgXH6U%3D&reserved=0> | marc@webhistory.org | +1 415 282 6868
Internet History Program Curatorial Director, Computer History Museum
1401 N Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View CA 94043 computerhistory.org/nethistory <https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fcomputerhistory.org%2Fnethistory&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb2bbfe2c547949ab3f8608d851f79c1c%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=cikY3EV9c0%2Foqter5j%2BFYPqYPI%2B%2BxaDCPKQ4rxIdZXI%3D&reserved=0>
Co-founder, Web History Center and Project, webhistory.org <https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwebhistory.org%2F&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb2bbfe2c547949ab3f8608d851f79c1c%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=a6zSanZydhYIDk47zHGm5Y435jZK7diyjC6EElKT2bk%3D&reserved=0>
_______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org
-- James W. Cortada Senior Research Fellow Charles Babbage Institute University of Minnesota jcortada@umn.edu 608-274-6382
Wow, that's a wonderful addition to this discussion. I wonder how often the same has been true for the various multi-volume biographies of people such as Winston Churchill. Brian On Sun, Sep 6, 2020 at 12:09 PM James Cortada <jcortada@umn.edu> wrote:
I would like to pipe in also to advocate for biography. I long ago came to the conclusion that the most difficult type of history to do is probably biography, which is why I never attempted to do it. So when someone writes a good biography I am in awe, especially since we need these. Bio story: Dumas Malone the great biographer of Thomas Jefferson told me in the 1960s that it was his objective to write his multi volume bio while going through the same age as Jefferson, i.e., writing about Jefferson in his '60s when Malone was in his '60s. Both lived into their '80s. He did it this way, he said, so that he could relate to such issues as their stations in life, attitude toward their prior accomplishments and their responses to the aches and pains of old age. I did not "get it" when he told this to me at my then age of 21; a half century later, I get it. But to put a fine point on his experience, he began studying biography in his '20s.
On Sun, Sep 6, 2020 at 1:53 PM Barbara B Walker <bbwalker@unr.edu> wrote:
Greetings, all,
It’s been wonderful to see this outpouring of excitement about biographies (and memoirs), reflecting their intrinsic fascination. Biographies are sometimes dismissed as subjective, celebratory, irrelevant to the broader structural issues of society, for example gender. But especially in an age of upward mobility through education, expertise, and innovation, good biographies are an extraordinary source of power for individual motivation and self-understanding. Sometimes they are indeed irritatingly celebratory, partly just because it is difficult for a biographer to stick to the research, if not inspired by the subject.
But biographies and memoirs are life-stories, and at their best uncover a multitude of difficulties and solutions to the grand Tolstoyan question, “kak zhit’,” or “how to live.” Difficulties overcome in intellectual development, love, family, institutions, financial relations – or not overcome – all are grist for readers of a biography to contemplate their own lives, and to strategize for their own success and happiness. As I have seen in reading/watching life-stories with my students, diverse and upwardly mobile as they are at my state university, life-stories are among the most profound tools for self-transformation. More publicly, it is extraordinary how Ron Chernow’s wonderful, complex biography of Alexander Hamilton, reimagined also by Miranda as a musical, has inspired a generation.
Dare I say that if left to men as a genre of scholarship, biographies serve especially to empower men? (and, heh-heh, to preserve the patriarchy!) Women too can learn from the lives of brilliant men, and do. But women – and all in the vast range of human gender and ethnic diversity -- historically face a variety of life-experiences not necessarily experienced by men, and so their lives are a potential source for expanding our understanding of “kak zhit’,” or how to live. And what it means to be human.
And just to contradict myself, let me add that one of the most inspiring biographies I have read is James Hamilton’s *A Life of Discovery, Michael Faraday, Giant of the Scientific Revolution.* Hamilton is an art historian, so able to illuminate Faraday’s remarkable ability to visualize the forces of nature, despite a poor education and a distinct weakness in formal mathematics. Those of my students uncomfortable with math love that part!
Hope all are having a safe, refreshing weekend, Barbara
*From: *Members <members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org> on behalf of "Ceruzzi, Paul" <CeruzziP@si.edu> *Date: *Saturday, September 5, 2020 at 4:58 PM *To: *"members@lists.sigcis.org" <members@lists.sigcis.org> *Subject: *Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Request for biographies
Here are some autobiographies / memoirs:
Paul Ceruzzi
_________________________________
Allen
Paul
Idea Man
2011
Portfolio/Penguin
Bartik
Jean Jennings
Pioneer Programmer: Jean Jennings Bartik and the Computer that changed the world
2013
Truman State University Press
Beranek
Leo
Riding the Waves: a life in sound, science, and industry
2008
MIT
Berners-Lee
Tim
Weaving the Web
1999
Harper
Getting
Ivan A.
All in a Lifetime: Science in the defense of democracy
1989
New York
Grosch
Herbert R.J.
Computer: Bit slices from a life
1991
Novato, CA
Hardy
G.H.
A Mathematician's Apology
1976
London
House
Charles H.
Permission Denied: Odyssey of an Intrapreneur
2012
Menlo Park, CA
Lukoff
Herman
From Dits to Bits…: A personal history of the electronic computer
1979
Portland, OR
Mims
Forrest M.
Siliconnections: Coming of Age in the Electronic Era
1986
New York
Morse
Philip M.
In at the Beginnings: A Physicist's Life
1977
Cambridge
Ornstein
Severo M.
Computing in the Middle Ages: A View From the Trenches 1955-1983
2002
Osborne
Adam
Hypergrowth: The Rise and Fall of Osborne Computer Corporation
1984
Berkeley, CA
Torvalds
Linus
Just For Fun: The Story of an Accidental Revolutionary
2001
New York
Ulam
S.M.
Adventures of a Mathematician
1976
New York
Watson
Thomas J. Jr.
Father, Son & Co.: My Life at IBM and Beyond
1991
New York
Wiener
Norbert
Ex-Prodigy: My Childhood and Youth
1966
Cambridge
Wiener
Norbert
I Am a Mathematician: The Later Life of a Prodigy
1973
Cambridge
Wilkes
Maurice
Memoirs of a Computer Pioneer
1985
Cambridge
Zuse
Konrad
Computer - My Life, the
1993
Berlin
[And two anthologies]
Lee
J.A.N.
Computer Pioneers
1995
Los Alamitos, CA
Northrup
Mary
Collective Biographies: American Computer Pioneers
1998
Springfield, NJ
------------------------------
*From:* Members <members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org> on behalf of Marc Weber <marc@webhistory.org> *Sent:* Saturday, September 5, 2020 7:07 PM *To:* Brian Berg <brianberg@gmail.com> *Cc:* members@sigcis org <members@sigcis.org> *Subject:* Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Request for biographies
*External Email - Exercise Caution*
It’s a wonderful book, and thank you to Severo for making it publicly accessible!
Severo also did an oral history <https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.computerhistory.org%2Fcollections%2Fcatalog%2F102738018&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb2bbfe2c547949ab3f8608d851f79c1c%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=s%2BHg8ecz8%2B6ofLg3%2BShRLUM4Mb5h2B0udeuCYIt1vzg%3D&reserved=0> with us, as did Dave Walden and several of the other folks being mentioned in this thread.
Best, Marc
Marc Weber <https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.computerhistory.org%2Fstaff%2FMarc%2CWeber%2F&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb2bbfe2c547949ab3f8608d851f79c1c%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=gIjYToEkCFzlFpwC7E%2Bdr%2BnAfXMqr6ukNDu6k%2FgXH6U%3D&reserved=0> | marc@webhistory.org | +1 415 282 6868 | Zoom 901 292 1071
Curatorial Director, Internet History Program
Computer History Museum, 1401 N Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View CA 94043
computerhistory.org/nethistory <https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fcomputerhistory.org%2Fnethistory&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb2bbfe2c547949ab3f8608d851f79c1c%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=cikY3EV9c0%2Foqter5j%2BFYPqYPI%2B%2BxaDCPKQ4rxIdZXI%3D&reserved=0> | Co-founder, Web History Center and Project
On Sep 5, 2020, at 07:44, Brian Berg <brianberg@gmail.com> wrote:
Thanks - this is some wonderful reading. For example, the Bob Taylor portion and the birth of the ARPANET and the ALTO computer nicely complements other books such as Leslie Berlin's *Troublemakers*.
Thanks, Brian Berg
On Sat, Sep 5, 2020 at 3:28 AM David Walden <dave.walden.family@gmail.com> wrote:
Severo Ornstein's memoir "Computing in the Middle Ages -- A view from the trenches, 1955-1983".
Available publicly at the Computer History Museum. https://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/102785079 <https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.computerhistory.org%2Fcollections%2Fcatalog%2F102785079&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb2bbfe2c547949ab3f8608d851f79c1c%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=ZReuWMNKDE%2BuR0BhfbfzzhoOM8zl2WtO74%2BpMRjyArY%3D&reserved=0>
His journey goes from Whirlwind to TX-2 to LINC to ARPANET to Durado to Mockingbird. At least look at the annotated Table of Contents and read the Preface to see what you'd be missing to not read his well written story.
_______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org <https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsigcis.org%2F&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb2bbfe2c547949ab3f8608d851f79c1c%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=eVImHCn3lzgTsajBRNoyzyhoXkA5M9%2BG6ymhoO1v6lc%3D&reserved=0>, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ <https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Flists.sigcis.org%2Fpipermail%2Fmembers-sigcis.org%2F&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb2bbfe2c547949ab3f8608d851f79c1c%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=fTzQeJgtnkuMFGew5r8rhjWqewB84%2F06wNvsQpdq8XE%3D&reserved=0> and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org <https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Flists.sigcis.org%2Flistinfo.cgi%2Fmembers-sigcis.org&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb2bbfe2c547949ab3f8608d851f79c1c%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=gVS3%2F808np%2FyBZeDWTe3AT5MW956iy6yK0NxqudkM0Y%3D&reserved=0>
_______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org <https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsigcis.org%2F&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb2bbfe2c547949ab3f8608d851f79c1c%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=eVImHCn3lzgTsajBRNoyzyhoXkA5M9%2BG6ymhoO1v6lc%3D&reserved=0>, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ <https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Flists.sigcis.org%2Fpipermail%2Fmembers-sigcis.org%2F&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb2bbfe2c547949ab3f8608d851f79c1c%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=fTzQeJgtnkuMFGew5r8rhjWqewB84%2F06wNvsQpdq8XE%3D&reserved=0> and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org <https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Flists.sigcis.org%2Flistinfo.cgi%2Fmembers-sigcis.org&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb2bbfe2c547949ab3f8608d851f79c1c%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=gVS3%2F808np%2FyBZeDWTe3AT5MW956iy6yK0NxqudkM0Y%3D&reserved=0>
Marc Weber <https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.computerhistory.org%2Fstaff%2FMarc%2CWeber%2F&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb2bbfe2c547949ab3f8608d851f79c1c%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=gIjYToEkCFzlFpwC7E%2Bdr%2BnAfXMqr6ukNDu6k%2FgXH6U%3D&reserved=0> | marc@webhistory.org | +1 415 282 6868
Internet History Program Curatorial Director, Computer History Museum
1401 N Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View CA 94043 computerhistory.org/nethistory <https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fcomputerhistory.org%2Fnethistory&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb2bbfe2c547949ab3f8608d851f79c1c%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=cikY3EV9c0%2Foqter5j%2BFYPqYPI%2B%2BxaDCPKQ4rxIdZXI%3D&reserved=0>
Co-founder, Web History Center and Project, webhistory.org <https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwebhistory.org%2F&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb2bbfe2c547949ab3f8608d851f79c1c%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=a6zSanZydhYIDk47zHGm5Y435jZK7diyjC6EElKT2bk%3D&reserved=0>
_______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org
-- James W. Cortada Senior Research Fellow Charles Babbage Institute University of Minnesota jcortada@umn.edu 608-274-6382 _______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org
Relevant to the comment about the Churchill biographies. Martin Gilbert wrote “In Search of Churchill” describing how he ended up writing the eight volumes. As the Software History SIG has done oral histories of over 100 software company pioneers, I have always considered how difficult it would be to do a full biography of the person. How much research and insight it would take to bring that person to life in a book so that those reading it would see the person as a whole. I am impressed with those of you that attempt to do this and even more impressed when you succeed. Burt Grad Sent from my iPad
On Sep 6, 2020, at 3:16 PM, Brian Berg <brianberg@gmail.com> wrote:
Wow, that's a wonderful addition to this discussion. I wonder how often the same has been true for the various multi-volume biographies of people such as Winston Churchill. Brian
On Sun, Sep 6, 2020 at 12:09 PM James Cortada <jcortada@umn.edu> wrote: I would like to pipe in also to advocate for biography. I long ago came to the conclusion that the most difficult type of history to do is probably biography, which is why I never attempted to do it. So when someone writes a good biography I am in awe, especially since we need these. Bio story: Dumas Malone the great biographer of Thomas Jefferson told me in the 1960s that it was his objective to write his multi volume bio while going through the same age as Jefferson, i.e., writing about Jefferson in his '60s when Malone was in his '60s. Both lived into their '80s. He did it this way, he said, so that he could relate to such issues as their stations in life, attitude toward their prior accomplishments and their responses to the aches and pains of old age. I did not "get it" when he told this to me at my then age of 21; a half century later, I get it. But to put a fine point on his experience, he began studying biography in his '20s.
On Sun, Sep 6, 2020 at 1:53 PM Barbara B Walker <bbwalker@unr.edu> wrote: Greetings, all,
It’s been wonderful to see this outpouring of excitement about biographies (and memoirs), reflecting their intrinsic fascination. Biographies are sometimes dismissed as subjective, celebratory, irrelevant to the broader structural issues of society, for example gender. But especially in an age of upward mobility through education, expertise, and innovation, good biographies are an extraordinary source of power for individual motivation and self-understanding. Sometimes they are indeed irritatingly celebratory, partly just because it is difficult for a biographer to stick to the research, if not inspired by the subject.
But biographies and memoirs are life-stories, and at their best uncover a multitude of difficulties and solutions to the grand Tolstoyan question, “kak zhit’,” or “how to live.” Difficulties overcome in intellectual development, love, family, institutions, financial relations – or not overcome – all are grist for readers of a biography to contemplate their own lives, and to strategize for their own success and happiness. As I have seen in reading/watching life-stories with my students, diverse and upwardly mobile as they are at my state university, life-stories are among the most profound tools for self-transformation. More publicly, it is extraordinary how Ron Chernow’s wonderful, complex biography of Alexander Hamilton, reimagined also by Miranda as a musical, has inspired a generation.
Dare I say that if left to men as a genre of scholarship, biographies serve especially to empower men? (and, heh-heh, to preserve the patriarchy!) Women too can learn from the lives of brilliant men, and do. But women – and all in the vast range of human gender and ethnic diversity -- historically face a variety of life-experiences not necessarily experienced by men, and so their lives are a potential source for expanding our understanding of “kak zhit’,” or how to live. And what it means to be human.
And just to contradict myself, let me add that one of the most inspiring biographies I have read is James Hamilton’s A Life of Discovery, Michael Faraday, Giant of the Scientific Revolution. Hamilton is an art historian, so able to illuminate Faraday’s remarkable ability to visualize the forces of nature, despite a poor education and a distinct weakness in formal mathematics. Those of my students uncomfortable with math love that part!
Hope all are having a safe, refreshing weekend, Barbara
From: Members <members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org> on behalf of "Ceruzzi, Paul" <CeruzziP@si.edu> Date: Saturday, September 5, 2020 at 4:58 PM To: "members@lists.sigcis.org" <members@lists.sigcis.org> Subject: Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Request for biographies
Here are some autobiographies / memoirs:
Paul Ceruzzi
_________________________________
Allen
Paul
Idea Man
2011
Portfolio/Penguin
Bartik
Jean Jennings
Pioneer Programmer: Jean Jennings Bartik and the Computer that changed the world
2013
Truman State University Press
Beranek
Leo
Riding the Waves: a life in sound, science, and industry
2008
MIT
Berners-Lee
Tim
Weaving the Web
1999
Harper
Getting
Ivan A.
All in a Lifetime: Science in the defense of democracy
1989
New York
Grosch
Herbert R.J.
Computer: Bit slices from a life
1991
Novato, CA
Hardy
G.H.
A Mathematician's Apology
1976
London
House
Charles H.
Permission Denied: Odyssey of an Intrapreneur
2012
Menlo Park, CA
Lukoff
Herman
From Dits to Bits…: A personal history of the electronic computer
1979
Portland, OR
Mims
Forrest M.
Siliconnections: Coming of Age in the Electronic Era
1986
New York
Morse
Philip M.
In at the Beginnings: A Physicist's Life
1977
Cambridge
Ornstein
Severo M.
Computing in the Middle Ages: A View From the Trenches 1955-1983
2002
Osborne
Adam
Hypergrowth: The Rise and Fall of Osborne Computer Corporation
1984
Berkeley, CA
Torvalds
Linus
Just For Fun: The Story of an Accidental Revolutionary
2001
New York
Ulam
S.M.
Adventures of a Mathematician
1976
New York
Watson
Thomas J. Jr.
Father, Son & Co.: My Life at IBM and Beyond
1991
New York
Wiener
Norbert
Ex-Prodigy: My Childhood and Youth
1966
Cambridge
Wiener
Norbert
I Am a Mathematician: The Later Life of a Prodigy
1973
Cambridge
Wilkes
Maurice
Memoirs of a Computer Pioneer
1985
Cambridge
Zuse
Konrad
Computer - My Life, the
1993
Berlin
[And two anthologies]
Lee
J.A.N.
Computer Pioneers
1995
Los Alamitos, CA
Northrup
Mary
Collective Biographies: American Computer Pioneers
1998
Springfield, NJ
From: Members <members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org> on behalf of Marc Weber <marc@webhistory.org> Sent: Saturday, September 5, 2020 7:07 PM To: Brian Berg <brianberg@gmail.com> Cc: members@sigcis org <members@sigcis.org> Subject: Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Request for biographies
External Email - Exercise Caution
It’s a wonderful book, and thank you to Severo for making it publicly accessible!
Severo also did an oral history with us, as did Dave Walden and several of the other folks being mentioned in this thread.
Best, Marc
Marc Weber | marc@webhistory.org | +1 415 282 6868 | Zoom 901 292 1071
Curatorial Director, Internet History Program
Computer History Museum, 1401 N Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View CA 94043
computerhistory.org/nethistory | Co-founder, Web History Center and Project
On Sep 5, 2020, at 07:44, Brian Berg <brianberg@gmail.com> wrote:
Thanks - this is some wonderful reading. For example, the Bob Taylor portion and the birth of the ARPANET and the ALTO computer nicely complements other books such as Leslie Berlin's Troublemakers.
Thanks, Brian Berg
On Sat, Sep 5, 2020 at 3:28 AM David Walden <dave.walden.family@gmail.com> wrote:
Severo Ornstein's memoir "Computing in the Middle Ages -- A view from the trenches, 1955-1983".
Available publicly at the Computer History Museum. https://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/102785079
His journey goes from Whirlwind to TX-2 to LINC to ARPANET to Durado to Mockingbird. At least look at the annotated Table of Contents and read the Preface to see what you'd be missing to not read his well written story.
_______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org
_______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org
Marc Weber | marc@webhistory.org | +1 415 282 6868
Internet History Program Curatorial Director, Computer History Museum
1401 N Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View CA 94043 computerhistory.org/nethistory
Co-founder, Web History Center and Project, webhistory.org
_______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org
-- James W. Cortada Senior Research Fellow Charles Babbage Institute University of Minnesota jcortada@umn.edu 608-274-6382 _______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org
This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org
Hi, regarding Jim’s comment about Dumas Malone on Jefferson and the problem of age: probably it does help to have some degree of intimacy with the identity of one’s biographical subject, but I don’t think it’s essential. You can research and write about the pain of childbirth and the damage it could do to women’s bodies in the 19th century as part of a biography (am thinking about Lovelace again), without having undergone childbirth yourself. Indeed it might be a good way of developing and exercising one’s intellectual capacity for empathy to write as a man about such an experience. But I realize these are deep waters and can imagine counter-arguments. And regarding the problem of too much information, and the encyclopedic biography that goes on and on: I think the best biographies are selectively focused, not endless, and that by the same token many different effective biographies could be written about any individual, depending on one’s research materials and the particular questions one wishes to ask about the life of this individual. The availability of increasing numbers of social and cultural histories makes it possible to contextualize a single life in a multitude of fascinating ways. From: Members <members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org> on behalf of BURTON GRAD <burtgrad@aol.com> Date: Sunday, September 6, 2020 at 12:36 PM To: Brian Berg <brianberg@gmail.com> Cc: "members@lists.sigcis.org" <members@lists.sigcis.org> Subject: Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Request for biographies Relevant to the comment about the Churchill biographies. Martin Gilbert wrote “In Search of Churchill” describing how he ended up writing the eight volumes. As the Software History SIG has done oral histories of over 100 software company pioneers, I have always considered how difficult it would be to do a full biography of the person. How much research and insight it would take to bring that person to life in a book so that those reading it would see the person as a whole. I am impressed with those of you that attempt to do this and even more impressed when you succeed. Burt Grad Sent from my iPad On Sep 6, 2020, at 3:16 PM, Brian Berg <brianberg@gmail.com> wrote: Wow, that's a wonderful addition to this discussion. I wonder how often the same has been true for the various multi-volume biographies of people such as Winston Churchill. Brian On Sun, Sep 6, 2020 at 12:09 PM James Cortada <jcortada@umn.edu<mailto:jcortada@umn.edu>> wrote: I would like to pipe in also to advocate for biography. I long ago came to the conclusion that the most difficult type of history to do is probably biography, which is why I never attempted to do it. So when someone writes a good biography I am in awe, especially since we need these. Bio story: Dumas Malone the great biographer of Thomas Jefferson told me in the 1960s that it was his objective to write his multi volume bio while going through the same age as Jefferson, i.e., writing about Jefferson in his '60s when Malone was in his '60s. Both lived into their '80s. He did it this way, he said, so that he could relate to such issues as their stations in life, attitude toward their prior accomplishments and their responses to the aches and pains of old age. I did not "get it" when he told this to me at my then age of 21; a half century later, I get it. But to put a fine point on his experience, he began studying biography in his '20s. On Sun, Sep 6, 2020 at 1:53 PM Barbara B Walker <bbwalker@unr.edu<mailto:bbwalker@unr.edu>> wrote: Greetings, all, It’s been wonderful to see this outpouring of excitement about biographies (and memoirs), reflecting their intrinsic fascination. Biographies are sometimes dismissed as subjective, celebratory, irrelevant to the broader structural issues of society, for example gender. But especially in an age of upward mobility through education, expertise, and innovation, good biographies are an extraordinary source of power for individual motivation and self-understanding. Sometimes they are indeed irritatingly celebratory, partly just because it is difficult for a biographer to stick to the research, if not inspired by the subject. But biographies and memoirs are life-stories, and at their best uncover a multitude of difficulties and solutions to the grand Tolstoyan question, “kak zhit’,” or “how to live.” Difficulties overcome in intellectual development, love, family, institutions, financial relations – or not overcome – all are grist for readers of a biography to contemplate their own lives, and to strategize for their own success and happiness. As I have seen in reading/watching life-stories with my students, diverse and upwardly mobile as they are at my state university, life-stories are among the most profound tools for self-transformation. More publicly, it is extraordinary how Ron Chernow’s wonderful, complex biography of Alexander Hamilton, reimagined also by Miranda as a musical, has inspired a generation. Dare I say that if left to men as a genre of scholarship, biographies serve especially to empower men? (and, heh-heh, to preserve the patriarchy!) Women too can learn from the lives of brilliant men, and do. But women – and all in the vast range of human gender and ethnic diversity -- historically face a variety of life-experiences not necessarily experienced by men, and so their lives are a potential source for expanding our understanding of “kak zhit’,” or how to live. And what it means to be human. And just to contradict myself, let me add that one of the most inspiring biographies I have read is James Hamilton’s A Life of Discovery, Michael Faraday, Giant of the Scientific Revolution. Hamilton is an art historian, so able to illuminate Faraday’s remarkable ability to visualize the forces of nature, despite a poor education and a distinct weakness in formal mathematics. Those of my students uncomfortable with math love that part! Hope all are having a safe, refreshing weekend, Barbara From: Members <members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org<mailto:members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org>> on behalf of "Ceruzzi, Paul" <CeruzziP@si.edu<mailto:CeruzziP@si.edu>> Date: Saturday, September 5, 2020 at 4:58 PM To: "members@lists.sigcis.org<mailto:members@lists.sigcis.org>" <members@lists.sigcis.org<mailto:members@lists.sigcis.org>> Subject: Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Request for biographies Here are some autobiographies / memoirs: Paul Ceruzzi _________________________________ Allen Paul Idea Man 2011 Portfolio/Penguin Bartik Jean Jennings Pioneer Programmer: Jean Jennings Bartik and the Computer that changed the world 2013 Truman State University Press Beranek Leo Riding the Waves: a life in sound, science, and industry 2008 MIT Berners-Lee Tim Weaving the Web 1999 Harper Getting Ivan A. All in a Lifetime: Science in the defense of democracy 1989 New York Grosch Herbert R.J. Computer: Bit slices from a life 1991 Novato, CA Hardy G.H. A Mathematician's Apology 1976 London House Charles H. Permission Denied: Odyssey of an Intrapreneur 2012 Menlo Park, CA Lukoff Herman From Dits to Bits…: A personal history of the electronic computer 1979 Portland, OR Mims Forrest M. Siliconnections: Coming of Age in the Electronic Era 1986 New York Morse Philip M. In at the Beginnings: A Physicist's Life 1977 Cambridge Ornstein Severo M. Computing in the Middle Ages: A View From the Trenches 1955-1983 2002 Osborne Adam Hypergrowth: The Rise and Fall of Osborne Computer Corporation 1984 Berkeley, CA Torvalds Linus Just For Fun: The Story of an Accidental Revolutionary 2001 New York Ulam S.M. Adventures of a Mathematician 1976 New York Watson Thomas J. Jr. Father, Son & Co.: My Life at IBM and Beyond 1991 New York Wiener Norbert Ex-Prodigy: My Childhood and Youth 1966 Cambridge Wiener Norbert I Am a Mathematician: The Later Life of a Prodigy 1973 Cambridge Wilkes Maurice Memoirs of a Computer Pioneer 1985 Cambridge Zuse Konrad Computer - My Life, the 1993 Berlin [And two anthologies] Lee J.A.N. Computer Pioneers 1995 Los Alamitos, CA Northrup Mary Collective Biographies: American Computer Pioneers 1998 Springfield, NJ ________________________________ From: Members <members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org<mailto:members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org>> on behalf of Marc Weber <marc@webhistory.org<mailto:marc@webhistory.org>> Sent: Saturday, September 5, 2020 7:07 PM To: Brian Berg <brianberg@gmail.com<mailto:brianberg@gmail.com>> Cc: members@sigcis org <members@sigcis.org<mailto:members@sigcis.org>> Subject: Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Request for biographies External Email - Exercise Caution It’s a wonderful book, and thank you to Severo for making it publicly accessible! Severo also did an oral history<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.computerhistory.org%2Fcollections%2Fcatalog%2F102738018&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7C85e65f29c0694a570bb908d8529c3605%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=UigEaTVKwOKwWM2NZoGNG%2B49Tq3kaJst7zn73%2FUkPr4%3D&reserved=0> with us, as did Dave Walden and several of the other folks being mentioned in this thread. Best, Marc Marc Weber<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.computerhistory.org%2Fstaff%2FMarc%2CWeber%2F&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7C85e65f29c0694a570bb908d8529c3605%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=h7BRHurbtoglXMfxGOEsHHDS9bBDAhy%2BejCmQgLadp8%3D&reserved=0> | marc@webhistory.org<mailto:marc@webhistory.org> | +1 415 282 6868 | Zoom 901 292 1071 Curatorial Director, Internet History Program Computer History Museum, 1401 N Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View CA 94043 computerhistory.org/nethistory<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fcomputerhistory.org%2Fnethistory&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7C85e65f29c0694a570bb908d8529c3605%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=BxFj9xfBcWPZ%2BxMLHP9UDuf1LtqQN3KZf8BFlUGVx8I%3D&reserved=0> | Co-founder, Web History Center and Project On Sep 5, 2020, at 07:44, Brian Berg <brianberg@gmail.com<mailto:brianberg@gmail.com>> wrote: Thanks - this is some wonderful reading. For example, the Bob Taylor portion and the birth of the ARPANET and the ALTO computer nicely complements other books such as Leslie Berlin's Troublemakers. Thanks, Brian Berg On Sat, Sep 5, 2020 at 3:28 AM David Walden <dave.walden.family@gmail.com<mailto:dave.walden.family@gmail.com>> wrote: Severo Ornstein's memoir "Computing in the Middle Ages -- A view from the trenches, 1955-1983". Available publicly at the Computer History Museum. https://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/102785079<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.computerhistory.org%2Fcollections%2Fcatalog%2F102785079&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7C85e65f29c0694a570bb908d8529c3605%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=UNG6PjGZtOUvo57Nhiu1W2N0JJaf2KLUux0ZgS1wZwo%3D&reserved=0> His journey goes from Whirlwind to TX-2 to LINC to ARPANET to Durado to Mockingbird. At least look at the annotated Table of Contents and read the Preface to see what you'd be missing to not read his well written story. _______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsigcis.org%2F&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7C85e65f29c0694a570bb908d8529c3605%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=oAsOW07fPinJvV2SuWp%2FonL6ye%2BR2kBRa4gjGCvsDjA%3D&reserved=0>, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. 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The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Flists.sigcis.org%2Fpipermail%2Fmembers-sigcis.org%2F&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7C85e65f29c0694a570bb908d8529c3605%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=9twNu3MevE1lsTCUW8gNtE1MO9%2BJwjp0%2Fu1UiPkJQ1o%3D&reserved=0> and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Flists.sigcis.org%2Flistinfo.cgi%2Fmembers-sigcis.org&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7C85e65f29c0694a570bb908d8529c3605%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=LMSuFtk6i%2BWeJVXJ2gY6miqSdydk%2ByJRdEAnDucEtB8%3D&reserved=0> Marc Weber<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.computerhistory.org%2Fstaff%2FMarc%2CWeber%2F&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7C85e65f29c0694a570bb908d8529c3605%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=h7BRHurbtoglXMfxGOEsHHDS9bBDAhy%2BejCmQgLadp8%3D&reserved=0> | marc@webhistory.org<mailto:marc@webhistory.org> | +1 415 282 6868 Internet History Program Curatorial Director, Computer History Museum 1401 N Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View CA 94043 computerhistory.org/nethistory<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fcomputerhistory.org%2Fnethistory&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7C85e65f29c0694a570bb908d8529c3605%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=BxFj9xfBcWPZ%2BxMLHP9UDuf1LtqQN3KZf8BFlUGVx8I%3D&reserved=0> Co-founder, Web History Center and Project, webhistory.org<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwebhistory.org%2F&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7C85e65f29c0694a570bb908d8529c3605%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=8VJLb%2FawUTH%2FKTuHLobUUahHjaFskhpTSz7apLzAjas%3D&reserved=0> _______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsigcis.org%2F&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7C85e65f29c0694a570bb908d8529c3605%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=oAsOW07fPinJvV2SuWp%2FonL6ye%2BR2kBRa4gjGCvsDjA%3D&reserved=0>, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. 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This has been a most interesting discussion and compilation of ‘great books’ THANKS to all I would heartily endorse Dave Walden’s naming of Cortada’s History Hunting. Fabulous insight and reflective piece. Re the Feynman memoir, which was written just about as he spoke, I’d also recommend Dan Kevles’ The Physicists. While not strictly a bio of any one person, it is a great character sketch of a collection of physicists Along the memoir track, I really like James Austin’s Chase, Chance, and Creativity And for full bio’s, Arnold Thackray and David Brock’s Gordon Moore is comprehensive And, a self-plug, I appreciate Paul Ceruzzi including my memoir Permission Denied on his short list. Chuck House www.innovascapesinstitute.com www.anywhereanytime.io/covid19 http://innovascapes.blogspot.com 805-570-6706 From: Members <members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org> on behalf of James Cortada <jcortada@umn.edu> Date: Sunday, September 6, 2020 at 12:09 PM To: Barbara B Walker <bbwalker@unr.edu> Cc: "members@lists.sigcis.org" <members@lists.sigcis.org> Subject: Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Request for biographies I would like to pipe in also to advocate for biography. I long ago came to the conclusion that the most difficult type of history to do is probably biography, which is why I never attempted to do it. So when someone writes a good biography I am in awe, especially since we need these. Bio story: Dumas Malone the great biographer of Thomas Jefferson told me in the 1960s that it was his objective to write his multi volume bio while going through the same age as Jefferson, i.e., writing about Jefferson in his '60s when Malone was in his '60s. Both lived into their '80s. He did it this way, he said, so that he could relate to such issues as their stations in life, attitude toward their prior accomplishments and their responses to the aches and pains of old age. I did not "get it" when he told this to me at my then age of 21; a half century later, I get it. But to put a fine point on his experience, he began studying biography in his '20s. On Sun, Sep 6, 2020 at 1:53 PM Barbara B Walker <bbwalker@unr.edu> wrote: Greetings, all, It’s been wonderful to see this outpouring of excitement about biographies (and memoirs), reflecting their intrinsic fascination. Biographies are sometimes dismissed as subjective, celebratory, irrelevant to the broader structural issues of society, for example gender. But especially in an age of upward mobility through education, expertise, and innovation, good biographies are an extraordinary source of power for individual motivation and self-understanding. Sometimes they are indeed irritatingly celebratory, partly just because it is difficult for a biographer to stick to the research, if not inspired by the subject. But biographies and memoirs are life-stories, and at their best uncover a multitude of difficulties and solutions to the grand Tolstoyan question, “kak zhit’,” or “how to live.” Difficulties overcome in intellectual development, love, family, institutions, financial relations – or not overcome – all are grist for readers of a biography to contemplate their own lives, and to strategize for their own success and happiness. As I have seen in reading/watching life-stories with my students, diverse and upwardly mobile as they are at my state university, life-stories are among the most profound tools for self-transformation. More publicly, it is extraordinary how Ron Chernow’s wonderful, complex biography of Alexander Hamilton, reimagined also by Miranda as a musical, has inspired a generation. Dare I say that if left to men as a genre of scholarship, biographies serve especially to empower men? (and, heh-heh, to preserve the patriarchy!) Women too can learn from the lives of brilliant men, and do. But women – and all in the vast range of human gender and ethnic diversity -- historically face a variety of life-experiences not necessarily experienced by men, and so their lives are a potential source for expanding our understanding of “kak zhit’,” or how to live. And what it means to be human. And just to contradict myself, let me add that one of the most inspiring biographies I have read is James Hamilton’s A Life of Discovery, Michael Faraday, Giant of the Scientific Revolution. Hamilton is an art historian, so able to illuminate Faraday’s remarkable ability to visualize the forces of nature, despite a poor education and a distinct weakness in formal mathematics. Those of my students uncomfortable with math love that part! Hope all are having a safe, refreshing weekend, Barbara From: Members <members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org> on behalf of "Ceruzzi, Paul" <CeruzziP@si.edu> Date: Saturday, September 5, 2020 at 4:58 PM To: "members@lists.sigcis.org" <members@lists.sigcis.org> Subject: Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Request for biographies Here are some autobiographies / memoirs: Paul Ceruzzi _________________________________ Allen Paul Idea Man 2011 Portfolio/Penguin Bartik Jean Jennings Pioneer Programmer: Jean Jennings Bartik and the Computer that changed the world 2013 Truman State University Press Beranek Leo Riding the Waves: a life in sound, science, and industry 2008 MIT Berners-Lee Tim Weaving the Web 1999 Harper Getting Ivan A. All in a Lifetime: Science in the defense of democracy 1989 New York Grosch Herbert R.J. Computer: Bit slices from a life 1991 Novato, CA Hardy G.H. A Mathematician's Apology 1976 London House Charles H. Permission Denied: Odyssey of an Intrapreneur 2012 Menlo Park, CA Lukoff Herman From Dits to Bits…: A personal history of the electronic computer 1979 Portland, OR Mims Forrest M. Siliconnections: Coming of Age in the Electronic Era 1986 New York Morse Philip M. In at the Beginnings: A Physicist's Life 1977 Cambridge Ornstein Severo M. Computing in the Middle Ages: A View From the Trenches 1955-1983 2002 Osborne Adam Hypergrowth: The Rise and Fall of Osborne Computer Corporation 1984 Berkeley, CA Torvalds Linus Just For Fun: The Story of an Accidental Revolutionary 2001 New York Ulam S.M. Adventures of a Mathematician 1976 New York Watson Thomas J. Jr. Father, Son & Co.: My Life at IBM and Beyond 1991 New York Wiener Norbert Ex-Prodigy: My Childhood and Youth 1966 Cambridge Wiener Norbert I Am a Mathematician: The Later Life of a Prodigy 1973 Cambridge Wilkes Maurice Memoirs of a Computer Pioneer 1985 Cambridge Zuse Konrad Computer - My Life, the 1993 Berlin [And two anthologies] Lee J.A.N. Computer Pioneers 1995 Los Alamitos, CA Northrup Mary Collective Biographies: American Computer Pioneers 1998 Springfield, NJ From: Members <members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org> on behalf of Marc Weber <marc@webhistory.org> Sent: Saturday, September 5, 2020 7:07 PM To: Brian Berg <brianberg@gmail.com> Cc: members@sigcis org <members@sigcis.org> Subject: Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Request for biographies External Email - Exercise Caution It’s a wonderful book, and thank you to Severo for making it publicly accessible! Severo also did an oral history with us, as did Dave Walden and several of the other folks being mentioned in this thread. Best, Marc Marc Weber | marc@webhistory.org | +1 415 282 6868 | Zoom 901 292 1071 Curatorial Director, Internet History Program Computer History Museum, 1401 N Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View CA 94043 computerhistory.org/nethistory | Co-founder, Web History Center and Project On Sep 5, 2020, at 07:44, Brian Berg <brianberg@gmail.com> wrote: Thanks - this is some wonderful reading. For example, the Bob Taylor portion and the birth of the ARPANET and the ALTO computer nicely complements other books such as Leslie Berlin's Troublemakers. Thanks, Brian Berg On Sat, Sep 5, 2020 at 3:28 AM David Walden <dave.walden.family@gmail.com> wrote: Severo Ornstein's memoir "Computing in the Middle Ages -- A view from the trenches, 1955-1983". Available publicly at the Computer History Museum. https://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/102785079 His journey goes from Whirlwind to TX-2 to LINC to ARPANET to Durado to Mockingbird. At least look at the annotated Table of Contents and read the Preface to see what you'd be missing to not read his well written story. _______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org _______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org Marc Weber | marc@webhistory.org | +1 415 282 6868 Internet History Program Curatorial Director, Computer History Museum 1401 N Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View CA 94043 computerhistory.org/nethistory Co-founder, Web History Center and Project, webhistory.org _______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org -- James W. Cortada Senior Research Fellow Charles Babbage Institute University of Minnesota jcortada@umn.edu 608-274-6382 _______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org
Second this recommendation. Ornstein’s contemporaneous thoughts about the ARPANET project he worked on, paraphrased: “Why in the world would anyone ever want to network computers?” Paul On Sep 5, 2020, at 03:27, David Walden <dave.walden.family@gmail.com<mailto:dave.walden.family@gmail.com>> wrote: Severo Ornstein's memoir "Computing in the Middle Ages -- A view from the trenches, 1955-1983". Available publicly at the Computer History Museum. https://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/102785079 His journey goes from Whirlwind to TX-2 to LINC to ARPANET to Durado to Mockingbird. At least look at the annotated Table of Contents and read the Preface to see what you'd be missing to not read his well written story. _______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org<http://sigcis.org/>, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org ________________________ Paul N. Edwards<https://profiles.stanford.edu/paul-edwards> Director, Program on Science, Technology & Society<http://sts.stanford.edu> William J. Perry Fellow in International Security and Senior Research Scholar Center for International Security and Cooperation<http://cisac.fsi.stanford.edu/> Co-Director, Stanford Existential Risks Initiative<https://cisac.fsi.stanford.edu/stanford-existential-risks-initiative> Stanford University Professor of Information<http://www.si.umich.edu/> and History<http://www.lsa.umich.edu/history/> (Emeritus) University of Michigan
There are some fragments of biographies in my 2001/2 book Artifacts: an archaeologist's year in Silicon Valley (MIT Press) but maybe too much autobiography also, for this thread... best wishes to all, Christine On Sat, 5 Sep 2020 at 21:38, Paul N. Edwards <pedwards@stanford.edu> wrote:
Second this recommendation.
Ornstein’s contemporaneous thoughts about the ARPANET project he worked on, paraphrased: “Why in the world would anyone ever want to network computers?”
Paul
On Sep 5, 2020, at 03:27, David Walden <dave.walden.family@gmail.com> wrote:
Severo Ornstein's memoir "Computing in the Middle Ages -- A view from the trenches, 1955-1983".
Available publicly at the Computer History Museum. https://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/102785079
His journey goes from Whirlwind to TX-2 to LINC to ARPANET to Durado to Mockingbird. At least look at the annotated Table of Contents and read the Preface to see what you'd be missing to not read his well written story. _______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org
________________________ Paul N. Edwards <https://profiles.stanford.edu/paul-edwards>
Director, Program on Science, Technology & Society <http://sts.stanford.edu> William J. Perry Fellow in International Security and Senior Research Scholar Center for International Security and Cooperation <http://cisac.fsi.stanford.edu/> Co-Director, Stanford Existential Risks Initiative <https://cisac.fsi.stanford.edu/stanford-existential-risks-initiative> Stanford University
Professor of Information <http://www.si.umich.edu/> and History <http://www.lsa.umich.edu/history/> (Emeritus) University of Michigan
_______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org
participants (10)
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Barbara B Walker -
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Ceruzzi, Paul -
Christine Finn -
Chuck House -
David Walden -
James Cortada -
Marc Weber -
Paul N. Edwards