

Ask HN: Good books on the history of computer science? - ninetax

I like computer science, but I would like to know more about it's history. Any good book recommendations? Maybe a good book on the overview and then some good ones on specific aspects (business, technical, biographies, etc.)
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RNeff
Computing: A Concise History by Paul E. Ceruzzi

From Airline Reservations to Sonic the Hedgehog: A History of the Software
Industry by Martin Campbell-Kelly/

The Computer History Museum is in Mountain View, CA, part of Silicon Valley,
close to the Googleplex and Microsoft SV. It has the second, working Babbage
Difference Engine. Also a youtube channel of lectures.

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ninetax
Cool, I'll take a look that those. I didn't get around to seeing the computer
history museum this summer, maybe another time. It sounds awesome!

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jrmenon
While not a complete history, the following book, 'Design and Evolution of
C++', does go into some history of other languages that influenced C++:

[http://www.amazon.com/The-Design-Evolution-Bjarne-
Stroustrup...](http://www.amazon.com/The-Design-Evolution-Bjarne-
Stroustrup/dp/0201543303)

If you happen to be in bay area, visiting the 'Computer History Museum' is a
good start too:

<http://www.computerhistory.org/>

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iamdann
_Hackers_ by Steven Levy, if you haven't read that yet

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ninetax
Thanks, I'll check it out!

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turbojerry
Turing's Cathedral

Darwin Among the Machines

Technomanifestos

Possiplex

What Technology Wants

A couple of not computer related, but quite interesting books-

The Structure of Scientific Revolutions

A Thousand Years of Nonlinear History

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ronyeh
I enjoyed this one: <http://www.codersatwork.com/> A bunch of interviews with
famous coders.

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seltzered_
CODE by Charles Petzold might be worth it.

