{"product_id":"readme-isbn-9780262553483","title":"README","description":"\u003cb\u003eThe essential role that the oldest literary technology—books—played in making computers popular and pervasive.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eREADME\u003c\/i\u003e, historian Patrick McCray argues that in order for computers to become ubiquitous, people first had to become interested in them, learn about them, and take the machines seriously. A powerful catalyst for this transformation was, ironically, one of the oldest information technologies we have: books. The author uses a carefully chosen selection of books, some iconic and others obscure, to describe this technological revolution as it unfolded in the half century after 1945. The book begins with a fundamental question: How does a new technology become well-known and widespread? McCray answers this by using books as a window into significant moments in the history of computing, books, publishing, and American culture.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eREADME\u003c\/i\u003e offers a literary history of computers and, more broadly, information technologies between World War II and the dot.com crash of the early twenty-first century. From the electronic brains and cybernetics craze of the 1940s to the birth of AI, the rise of the personal computer, and the Internet-driven financial frenzy of the 1990s, books have proven a durable and essential way for people to learn how to use and think about computers. By offering a readable half-century of bookish history, \u003ci\u003eREADME \u003c\/i\u003eexplains how computers became popular and pervasive.Contents\u003cbr\u003eHELLO “README”\u003cbr\u003e1 Thinking Machines\u003cbr\u003e2 Golems\u003cbr\u003e3 Apostles and Apostates\u003cbr\u003e4 CTRL + SHIFT\u003cbr\u003e5 A TeXtual Community\u003cbr\u003e6 Designing Cultures\u003cbr\u003e7 1984\u003cbr\u003e8 Materialism, Maps, and Manuals\u003cbr\u003e9 All Tomorrow’s Parties\u003cbr\u003eBYE “README”\u003cbr\u003eAcknowledgments\u003cbr\u003eNotes on Sources\u003cbr\u003eNotes\u003cbr\u003eIndex“Whether writing about the familiar or the forgotten, McCray simply knows how to tell a good story, and the result is a refreshingly original account of how print publication influenced the earliest days of Silicon Valley and, in turn, how computing transformed print.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Lisa Gitelman, author of \u003ci\u003eAlways Already New\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003ePaper Knowledge\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“What an enjoyable journey through the world of books—yes, books—that guided us as we encountered this improbable invention.” \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Paul Ceruzzi, Curator Emeritus, National Air and Space Museum\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A wonderfully readable look at the interface between book history and computer history, \u003ci\u003eREADME \u003c\/i\u003eretells some familiar stories while uncovering a good many more, accompanying them with critical analysis, interviews with industry figures, and fresh archival scrutiny.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Matthew Kirschenbaum, author of \u003ci\u003eTrack Changes\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eBitstreams\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eW. Patrick McCray is Professor of History at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Originally trained as a scientist, he is the author or editor of eight books. He is an elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the American Physical Society (APS).","brand":"The MIT Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48233504047333,"sku":"NP9780262553483","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780262553483.jpg?v=1767735455","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/readme-isbn-9780262553483","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}