
Ask HN: Anything Like Carl Sagan's Cosmos for Computer Science? - leksak
Is there anything like Carl Sagan&#x27;s Cosmos that talks about the history of computing in an accessible way? Pondering Christmas gifts for my niece.
======
boatsock
Code by Charles Petzold would be the best in my opinion.

link: [https://www.amazon.com/Code-Language-Computer-Hardware-
Softw...](https://www.amazon.com/Code-Language-Computer-Hardware-
Software/dp/0735611319)

~~~
napsterbr
+1. Great gift for non-technical friends/relatives. It does get at a technical
depth of computer organization and stuff, but it has a nice gradual intro. But
if op focus is computer science history, there may be better options (don't
know which ones, and Code does share some history detail, but not that much.
It should get your niece interested in computer science though).

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charlesism
Although you're probably looking for something a bit more technical, somebody
really should mention:

 _" Triumph of the Nerds_ _: How the Personal Computer Changed the World "_

\-
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sX5g0kidk3Y](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sX5g0kidk3Y)
\-
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiffgiRAYUI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiffgiRAYUI)

\-
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGTPdLxf7FQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGTPdLxf7FQ)
\-
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yamGfoFUXsA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yamGfoFUXsA)
\- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dK-
gzpjIVI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dK-gzpjIVI)

------
stiff
The New Turing Omnibus: [https://www.amazon.com/New-Turing-Omnibus-Sixty-Six-
Excursio...](https://www.amazon.com/New-Turing-Omnibus-Sixty-Six-
Excursions/dp/0805071660)

Algorithmics: The Spirit of Computing: [https://www.amazon.com/Algorithmics-
Spirit-Computing-David-H...](https://www.amazon.com/Algorithmics-Spirit-
Computing-David-
Harel/dp/0321117840/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1479724948&sr=1-1&keywords=david+harel)

~~~
happy-go-lucky
+1 for The New Turing Omnibus

------
ljw1001
Neither of these is exactly what you asked for, but both are awesome in their
own way, and both are (narrow and somewhat dated) histories:

Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution by Steven Levy.

The Pulitzer Prize Winning) The Soul of a New Machine, by Tracy Kidder. The
second one literally changed my life in leading me to computers.

Links: [https://www.amazon.com/Hackers-Heroes-Computer-Revolution-
An...](https://www.amazon.com/Hackers-Heroes-Computer-Revolution-
Anniversary/dp/1449388396)

[https://www.amazon.com/Soul-New-Machine-Tracy-
Kidder/dp/0316...](https://www.amazon.com/Soul-New-Machine-Tracy-
Kidder/dp/0316491977/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1479649562&sr=1-1&keywords=the+soul+of+a+new+machine)

~~~
jambulance
Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution by Steven Levy absolutely changed
my life when I found it as a young boy in the local library. Possibly the most
read book on my bookshelf!

------
oldbuzzard
Gleick's "The Information" and Dyson's "Turing's Cathedral" would be 2 other
good pop sci books on the origins of CS.

[https://www.amazon.com/Information-History-Theory-
Flood/dp/1...](https://www.amazon.com/Information-History-Theory-
Flood/dp/1400096235)

[https://www.amazon.com/Turings-Cathedral-Origins-Digital-
Uni...](https://www.amazon.com/Turings-Cathedral-Origins-Digital-
Universe/dp/1400075998)

------
thisisananth
I would recommend the book - Innovators by Walter Issacson. It contains the
history for computing from Charles Babbage to the invention of the Internet by
Tim Berners Lee. Though it has some factual errors, it was a very interesting
book. [https://www.amazon.com/Innovators-Hackers-Geniuses-
Created-R...](https://www.amazon.com/Innovators-Hackers-Geniuses-Created-
Revolution/dp/1476708703)

------
flukus
There's a PBS (I think) series called "the machine that changed the world".
This is the best history of computing I've seen yet.

~~~
stevenalowe
+1 [http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/the-machine-that-changed-
the-...](http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/the-machine-that-changed-the-world/)

------
Daniel_Marcos
I absolutely love this book. It's very accessible, though perhaps not for
younger kids.

[But How Do It Know?] ([https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F25LEVC/ref=dp-kindle-
redirect?...](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F25LEVC/ref=dp-kindle-
redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1))

------
ivan_ah
This is an article is very interesting (very very long)
[https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2015-paul-ford-what-is-
co...](https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2015-paul-ford-what-is-code/)

------
mezod
I loved A History of Modern Computing by Paul Ceruzzi

[https://www.amazon.com/History-Modern-
Computing/dp/026253203...](https://www.amazon.com/History-Modern-
Computing/dp/0262532034)

------
westurner
Computer #History:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer)

Outline of Computer Engineering #History of:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outline_of_computer_engineerin...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outline_of_computer_engineering)

History of Computer Science:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_computer_science](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_computer_science)

Outline of Computer Science:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outline_of_computer_science](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outline_of_computer_science)

History of the Internet:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Internet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Internet)

History of the World Wide Web:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_World_Wide_Web](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_World_Wide_Web)

~~~
brudgers
Not really in keeping with the idea of a gift suitable for a niece.

~~~
westurner
No, but particulary more comprehensive and informative than any one video.
These links (to #OER) would be useful for anyone intending to try and
replicate the form and style of the "Cosmos" video series with Computer
Science content.

~~~
brudgers
_Cosmos_ was also a dead tree book. [1] It was not uncommonly given as a gift.

The original TV series was broadcast the same year as its publication, 1980,
but I don't think it was readily available on consumer tape until several
years later and then not at normal holiday gift prices. Back in those days,
most video libraries were built by the librarian directly recording
broadcasts. But most people would just wait for a rebroadcast.

[1]:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmos_(Carl_Sagan_book)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmos_\(Carl_Sagan_book\))

