BKHAPOCP.RVW   990724

"Howard Aiken: Portrait of a Computer Pioneer", I. Bernard Cohen,
1999, 0-262-03262-7, U$34.95
%A   I. Bernard Cohen
%C   55 Hayward Street, Cambridge, MA   02142-1399
%D   1999
%G   0-262-03262-7
%I   MIT Press
%O   U$34.95 +1-800-356-0343 fax: +1-617-625-6660 www-mitpress.mit.edu
%P   329 p.
%T   "Howard Aiken: Portrait of a Computer Pioneer"

While Aiken's name is known to computer historians, Cohen is concerned
that Aiken is not, perhaps, given his due as a pioneer and power in
the nascent computer community.  Rather than outlining technical
innovations, this book concentrates on Aiken's personality, and his
interesting life story.  The text deals primarily with people, rather
than technology, although the author demonstrates a sound grasp of all
technology that is discussed.

The material shows that if Aiken did not have an impact on computer
architecture and design, he definitely did have an influence on
computing as it is understood today.  As only one example, there is
the perception of Charles Babbage, rather than Pascal or some other,
as the "grandfather" of the computer.  Most modern popular accounts of
Babbage's work derive from Aiken's presentation, and even
misunderstanding, of Babbage's proposed engines.

Significant space is given to the building, and operation, of the
Mark I/ASCC computer, but not to the Marks II, III, and IV.  A fair
amount of material is also devoted to the computer science programs
started at Harvard.  While activities outside of the computation
laboratory are mentioned, I found it disappointing that more attention
was not paid to the exchanges of ideas that must have taken place
between the various groups that were building computers around the
world at the time.

The text is readable.  A great deal of the material is anecdotal, and
the references as to how the information was gathered, and from whom,
is worked quite naturally into the narrative without the disruption of
constant endnotes and citations.  The scarcity of formal references
should not be seen as carelessness in research: the author notes
conflicting versions of important stories, and the attempts made to
determine the correct course of events.  Occasionally the book does
get ahead of itself and requires fairly careful reading to understand
what, at first, appears to be a non-sequitur.  However, this kind of
problem is quite common in histories and biographies, and Cohen seems
to have dealt with it more effectively than most authors.

An enjoyable and informative book, illuminating a number of little
known areas, and attempting to correct more than a few myths.

copyright Robert M. Slade, 1999   BKHAPOCP.RVW   990724