This Post Has 11 Comments

1. A thriller that is not fiction
   This is a superb book. Rich in detail, sweeping in scope, the author is always in complete control of his material. I knew many of the individual pieces of this story, but Rid place them all in an illuminating context. Well worth reading–and returning to read again.

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2. … the book is very well written and is particularly good on the relations to war (The author is a …
   Although the book is very well written and is particularly good on the relations to war (The author is a professor of War Studies.) as well as the counterculture. However, there are some surprising lacunae in the early story of cybernetics. The author mentions that Ampere was the first to use the word (very little known), but he doesn’t discuss James Clerk Maxwell on the governor, which Wiener himself discusses concerning his choice of the term.Cybernetics: Second Edition: Or the Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine, p. 11 The most surprising omission of a sources is the lack of use of Steve Heim’s John von Neuman and Norbert Wiener: From Mathematics to the Technology of Life and Death, John von Neumann and Norbert Wiener: From Mathematics to the Technologies of Life and Death and Constructing a Social Science for Postwar America: The Cybernetics Group, 1946-1953. Perhaps Heims’ opposition to nuclear arms rubbed the author the wrong way.

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3. Greatly informative
   Much needed historical background for a Computer Science student. I had to use this book in English 102 to write a paper.

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4. Sensational
   So much information arranged so that I could somewhat understand the developments in this field. Can’t help but admire and appreciate the explorers of this field that shapes the world we live in today.

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5. This book is an extensive discussion of the historical aspects …
   This book is an extensive discussion of the historical aspects of how man and machine were integrated. The rise of the machines was driven by the Second World War and the Germans rise to a technological power during the war. Wars seem to be the catalysts for technological advancements for integrating men and machines to a more integrated relationship.

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6. First rate introduction to Cyber history.
   Excellent Book, well researched and written.

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7. An excellent history of the intersection of humanity and technology
   It took a few days to make inroads into this book, but once the narrative got to the 70s and 80s I was staying up late to read more. The story ends up recounting a grand narrative of technological determinism, but in a way that never feels kitschy (a remarkable achievement given that the story hinges on a bunch of ancient tech). Highly recommended to anyone who has any interest in the subject.

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8. Five Stars
   A prophetic history…..

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9. So good i have read it twice!

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10. A very interesting book about a nearly forgotten, but interesting chapter in the history of ideas, of science and of philosophy.

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11. Ok deal

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