The Computer. A History from the 17th Century to Today

by Jens Müller (Editor), Julius Wiedemann (Editor)

The story of the evolution of machines in computer history is full of the disruptive innovations that have led to today’s world. From the early beginnings of computing to the bulky mainframe to the personal computer era, we now live in an almost entirely digital age.

The Computer explores steps from the first ideas of a calculating machine in the 19th century and early experiments with autonomous driving in the 1920s to oversized office computers in the 1950s to laptops and wearables of today. Jens Müller delivers a visual understanding of the emergence of the Information Age that hasn’t been shown before. Tracing the stories of tech visionaries, pioneers, and entrepreneurs, the book combines compelling visuals, historical documents, and in-depth explanations to reveal significant events in computer history. Encompassing the invention of machines, coding, and software development, as well as technology's influence on today's political landscape.

This survey presents creations from Ada Lovelace, Charles Babbage, Alan Turing, Grace Hopper, Bill Gates, and Steve Jobs. Showcasing forgotten gadgets and prototypes connecting iconic products such as the Apple Macintosh and the Sony Play Station. As well as remembering milestones in software development, videogaming, and the web. Infographics explain wireless communication and other fundamental technical concepts, while the history of corporations such as IBM, Apple, Microsoft, Atari, Amazon, and Google is retraced through rare photographs and advertising campaigns.

A fascinating read, this book acknowledges the computer’s stupendous power and social impact. For techies and everyone interested in culture, economics, politics, and science, it illustrates how we got here today and helps us ask better questions about where we will be tomorrow.

Genres: Computers, Art, Nonfiction, History

472 pages, Hardcover

First published April 6, 2023

About the author

Jens Müller was born in Koblenz, Germany, in 1982 and studied graphic design. Recipient of numerous national and international design awards, he is a partner of Vista design studio in Düsseldorf and professor of corporate design at the Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts.

Reviews

[Kai Weber · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lushly and lavishly illustrated history of the computer, in quarto format, weighing four kilos: This book can be used not just for visual and mental enjoyment, but also for physical exercise. The short texts are informative and interesting, but certainly not a coherent history. They're just enough to give some context to the well-selected and well-printed images. A joy to behold, full of the marvels of human ingenuity - from a technological as well as from a designer's point of view.

[Mansour S منصور السدحان · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a book! A thrilling journey into the incredible machine that once was the key to the “Future”. A technology only accessed by a few privileged and smart enough to operate it. And now as common as toast bread, I tell a lie, more common than toast bread! A bygone age of wonder and dreams of what this marvel-of-the-age will deliver to humanity. almost every computer associated thing we have today was conceived in theory and in paper way way back!, from smartphones to social media all the way to Ai! What a time to be alive, back then, or even later back then (70s-80s)! A glorified coin sorting machine, through the rather outré behavior of electrons/electricity it was reduced in size to the world of the micro and voila: the computer! Yet things are not as straightforward as that. Many aspects of computing were explored before we even had electric light bulbs! From Babylonians to Ada Lovelace, the first programmer in history who wrote a software of sorts and predicted that computers will generate art and music in Victorian times! And here we are today…are we living in the digital utopia that was promised by computers? Is Ai making the WORLD a better place? Anyhow,
Depending on how old you are, there will be be chapter or more in this book acting like a trip down memory lane, a sweet nostalgic dream! Oh nostalgia…that world that is far far away yet physically hasn’t gone anywhere!
Totally enjoyed this book. It’s basically a museum in paper for it doesn’t have much text but lots and lots of displays with descriptions.

[Simone Scardapane]

A few years ago I was amazed by the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, and this book has a very similar feeling - a long tour through the history of computing at large with many digressions in virtual reality, artificial intelligence, the NSFW web, media and piracy, and so on. The book is quite large and heavy (4 kg) but the print quality is amazing. Descriptions in three languages are basic but enough to cover most aspects (more would have been overwhelming at this size).

[Mihai Babuţia · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is a museum. There is a lot of footage that I didn’t even know it existed, detailed descriptions and hystorical notes. While I am deeply engaged into reading, I feel like being in a computing museum.