I've always been fascinated by cryptography, binary numbers, Babbage and Lovelace, long-distance phone hacking, and so many other components of computing. This book brings everything together - so many things from paleolithic times up to the AI singularity. This book provides an excellent overview and can be the jumping off point for a deeper investigation into any one of these components. The book recognizes the impacts made by queer and BIPOC scientists and inventors.

Definitely a buy for my personal shelf, and a MUST ORDER for elementary - high school libraries.

4.8/5 stars

A book that I wanted to like, but found so lacking in narrative flow I could not really deal with it. We get a very patchy introduction to computers, what they've recently been made of and what they have had played on them in the past, before jumping back to the Antikythera Mechanism, the abacuses of history, and so on. Graphic asides, lesson through footnote and annotation, sidebars breaking up the page – the whole feels that more thought has been spent on the look of the piece than on the contents, however correct, well-written and edifying they may be. I was all for a work that covered everything on up since the original hanging chad machines (Herman Hollerith being the name to check, apparently) that really would boggle the mind of some young reader more used to Minecrafting and getting past age checks on free porn sites, but this seemed to love its antiquated-feeling busyness too much for my tastes. Illustrate your factoids by all means, but cram them into one narrative whose pages can be easily read without unnecessary diversion, mistakes in reading order and everything else to put a student off, please.

Already preordered this book for my home library. Absolutely loved this. Was interesting and factual. Great content and easy to understand. Loved!

A book about the history of computers!

Packed with facts and wonderful illustrations, you get a book dedicated to computers. Who invented what, where did it start, and how has different computers evolved through the years? This book has it all, and it was such an interesting read.

If you are a computer fan, or a fan of history, this is the book for you. Or are you like me a curious reader? Then it’s the book for you as well. I love learning about new things! I recommend it!

Full disclosure: computers have played an important role in this reviewer's life since 1974 when I majored in data processing in college. My working career started with mainframes and progressed to the current generation of personal computers. I've worked and created within the virtual collaborative space of Second Life for the past fifteen years.

While I enjoy the illustration style and find it engaging in a way that will help readers feel comfortable with the learning process, I have concerns about the book's content. Great illustrations aren't enough to mask the fact that the information presented is disorganized. Kids will be expected to take in a lot of information, and presenting it in a smooth chronological order helps. Progress builds on the achievements of the past, so it's good to know where we started to understand where we are going. Examples from this book showing jumbled dates include "Important Inventions", which moves from 1947 to 1934 to 1945, and "The Personal Computer 1970-1979" shows a whirlwind illustration of PC's in an artistic but random order.

The author states that "This book will highlight the milestones of computer history and explore the idea that technological knowledge is power...this book focuses on the intent, purpose and impact of the people and machines that changed our world." This is wording that can easily lead towards biased statements. For example, I was dismayed to see that "Mainstream Virtual Reality" only mentioned VR headsets, while on the same page, "World of Warcraft Goes Online" highlights the ability to connect users all over the globe to quest together. I saw no mention of user-created virtual spaces such as Second Life (created in 2003, the first metaverse) or High Fidelity, InWorldz, Sansar, or others that have left their mark on virtual world development. With the Metaverse currently re-emerging as the newest darling on social media, this slighting does a disservice to curious students who will be creating avatars of their own, if they haven't already.

And no mention of Ada Lovelace, the world's *first* computer programmer? In the Victorian era, she worked side by side with Charles Babbage to create algorithms for his Difference Engine.

Lastly: I don't usually mention typos since I know advance review copies are still in the editing process, but this heading, "THE ABACUS AROUND THE WOLRD" needs to be fixed. It's part of the artwork, so I felt it needed to be mentioned.

My thanks to author Rachel Ignotofsky, Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed Press, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a digital advance review copy of this book. This review is my honest and unbiased opinion.

I have always had an interest in robots and the technology and psychology surrounding them and how this technology has shaped people – this is where computers come in and with this book with the under title ”People, Inventions, and Technology that Changed Our World” I hoped to get more lovely knowledge about a subject I love. I might add that my knowledge is more of an beginner/intermediate level than of an expert, so there is still lots of room to learn new and more.

In 2006 I wrote an assignment in school about the history of the computer. This is before iPhones, Facebook and Google were only beginning to make waves in the common people's conscience. Since then a lot has happened technology-wise and how people use computers and I was hoping this read could bring me up-to-date and hopefully learn something new.

There is no doubt that this is a well-researched book about the history of the computer and it explains to perfection what a computer is – a tool that can process a large amount of numbers correctly. Human brains have always had limited capacity and through this book, we are shown different tools/computers used throughout history from ancient times till today that has helped humans compute information too grand for the human brain.

It's a text-heavy and information-heavy book, and with children as a target audience, I would say it's a book parents read WITH their children. I think it would have to be a stubborn and nerdy kid to reach the end alone. Many of the inventions are unfamiliar based on what is used today, so when you are not told the direct link to today, it's hard to understand why it was important to read about. Furthermore, the information overload can be overwhelming at times and even I had trouble seeing why some info was relevant in the different sections.

The cover is a good illustration of what to expect of the pages within – from corner to corner, the whole page will be covered with text and illustrations. (The illustrations won more space than the text and it caused that the letters were really small. Not ideal!)
The illustrations are an important part of understanding the text, but the layout of the page (with no blank spots) was, again, overwhelming.
And this is just my opinion, but I felt like the text could have had a better breadcrumb trail through the subjects to avoid that some info gets repeated several times. It could help with the info overload if the direct line towards the conclusion was more visible. It would have been helpful and encouraging if the author finished one thing so I understand and can use that knowledge in the next subject she presented.

If you or your kids have an interest in learning about how amazing humans have invented computers throughout times to help them in their daily life and how human history is shaped by these inventions, then this is the read for you.

I really wanted to love this read, but it was a heavy/not always logical read. It's not meant to be read in one setting and I am okay with that, but because I couldn't see the logic/breadcrumb trail in the chapters it also meant that it's hard to put it away in case you forget the information you read earlier. I feel like I failed in reading this book. It had a lot of research and information, but it's like it was a bit too much for my brain to take in.



Other things to tell:
The book centre a lot around American inventions.

From what I can see on Goodreads, this author like to highlight women relevant to her subject and she does the same here. As a woman myself, I found that great, but I still felt some highlights was pushing it. Some inventions have taken a team of people to finish, and it's okay to mention the people, but highlighting the women or people of colour only is hard to understand.

5 shining, gorgeously-illustrated, informative, makes-learning-fun, techy stars~

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me digital access to this book! ^^

This is stunning - I mean truly. Rachel Ignotofsky is a mega-talented illustrator that has brought us all kinds of beautiful creations, from coloring books to postcards, journals, illustrated compendiums, and more. Her work is recognizable right away, and I love her style. [I am a big fan of her "Women In Science" postcards, which I have postcrossed across the states.] This book, which goes into the history of the computer as we know it today, is chock-full of incredible illustrations, from the first abacus all the way to the computers we carry in our pockets.

The layout of the book: I couldn't say enough positive things, really. Even the MARGINS are beautiful and offer information as well as being pleasing to the eye. Every inch of space was well thought-out. I really liked how it began very modern, regarding timeline, and then took it wayyyy back to prehistoric/BC/ancient times.

I think this would be a great gift or coffee table book for the techy or geek in your life [like yours truly~]! [I may be biased because I work in IT, but I digress.... :)] or perhaps even to a young lad or lass with an interest in STEM.

Overall, a beautiful work of informative art that I would share with everyone, from the youngsters in my life all the way up to my grandparents.

Thank you to the publisher, illustrator, NG and the author for a copy of this book in exchange for honest feedback. Right off the bat, I really like the illustrators and the idea of the book. The history of technology is really interesting to me, but I don't really understand a lot of the highly technical details. This seems appropriate for a layman right at the start. Browsing through, one can see that it's highly visual. It's like a graphic nonfiction. It is very thorough, starting at ancient civilization timeline. There are plenty of illustrations, drawings, icons, etc. throughout a lot of information. I loved the women in the early tech pages. The info is presented in small chunks alongside the illustrations so it's not "too much" or overwhelming. I honestly really liked this book and think it's perfect for almost anyone with even a slight interest in the content. Would be great as a series, as well as an addition to a classroom or library. I really do think it was brilliant.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The History of the Computer by Rachel Ignotofsky is a delightful, full-color, illustrated history of the computer. I think that this book would make an excellent coffee-table book. The book includes plenty of facts, including sections on "influential people" and what happened at Bletchley Par. According to the description, this book
is "packed with accessible information, fun facts, and discussion starters" and "takes you from the ancient world to the modern day, focusing on important inventions from the earliest known counting systems to the sophisticated algorithms behind AI."

Overall, The History of the Computer is a lovely informational book that will be interesting to anyone who has ever used a computer or browsed the internet. One highlight of this book is how much research the author must have done in order to convey this information to the reader. I can see this book being used in high school classrooms to teach students about where computers came from. Another highlight of this book is the amazing artwork. The pages are colorful and beautifully-designed. If you're intrigued by the description, I highly recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in April!