ENIAC: The Triumphs and Tragedies of the World’s First Computer

by Scott McCartney

Kindle Edition

Published April 6, 2021

Reviews

[Brandon Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really good historical account of John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert's invention of the ENIAC, along with the subsequent creation of the Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corporation and the UNIVAC. Details of the ENIAC patent lawsuits were particularly interesting, and the story of how poor business acumen and marketing led to the epic failure of a business that could have been wildly successful, considering the eventual wild success of the computer

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this America-centric book, telling the story of ENIAC "the world's first computer", ignores the Manchester-built Colossus, it tells the enjoyable story of John Mauchly and Presper Eckert who designed and built ENIAC.

ENIAC was an immense milestone in the development of electronic computing. It occupied 1,800 square feet and weighed 30 tons, including 18,000 vacuum tubes. This book tells the tale of how ENIAC came to be.

[Gary Lang · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential restoration of credit to the real creators of the first computer

[Goldie! Redd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fuck Von Neumann. And Goldstein, but definitely Von Neumann.