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The difference engine; Charles Babbage and the quest to build the first computer.

The difference engine; Charles Babbage and the quest to build the first computer.

The difference engine; Charles Babbage and the quest to build the first
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The difference engine; Charles Babbage and the quest to build the first computer. Hardback - 2000

by [BABBAGE, Charles (1791-1871)] SWADE, Doron (1944-)

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Description

(New York, etc.):: Viking, (2000)., 2000. 8vo. x, 342 pp. 42 figs. on plates, bibliog., index. Quarter cloth, dust-jacket. Fine. ISBN: 0670910201 The remarkable story of how Babbage tried to build a calculating engine, the precursor to the modern-day computer, which was (in fact) finally built to his designs in 1991. Doron Swade MBE, is a museum curator and author, specialising in the history of computing. He is especially known for his work on the computer pioneer Charles Babbage and his Difference Engine.
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Details

  • Title The difference engine; Charles Babbage and the quest to build the first computer.
  • Author [BABBAGE, Charles (1791-1871)] SWADE, Doron (1944-)
  • Binding Hardback
  • Edition First Edition
  • Pages 352
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Viking, (2000)., (New York, etc.):
  • Publication date 2000
  • Illustrated Yes
  • Bookseller's Inventory # S6038
  • ISBN 9780670910205 / 0670910201
  • Weight 1.04 lbs (0.47 kg)
  • Dimensions 8.11 x 5.33 x 1.18 in (20.60 x 13.54 x 3.00 cm)
  • Category Biography / Autobiography
  • Library of Congress Catalogue Number 00068643
  • Dewey Decimal Code B

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From the publisher

In 1821, Charles Babbage was reviewing a set of mathematical tables with a colleague in preparation for a scientific presentation when, after finding a wealth of errors, he exclaimed in frustration, "I wish to God these calculations had been executed by steam!" With this outburst, Babbage began to envision an end to human errors in the numerical tables upon which finance, trade, science, and navigation relied. The Difference Engine is the fascinating story of his heroic quest, against all odds, to build the first computing machine more than one hundred years before the modern computer we use today was invented. Set against the politics and science of the explosive early Victorian era, The Difference Engine is a thrilling tale of Babbage's exuberant determination. Like Longitude, The Difference Engine is a fascinating portrait of the human story behind a pivotal moment in history and one of the most influential inventions of our time.

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