Vannevar Bush, Ultra, and the Other Memex

[stevenw@best.com (Steven Weller)]

I borrowed an interesting book from the library a while ago: _Information
and Secrecy. Vannevar Bush, Ultra, and the Other Memex_. If this is old
hat, please ignore.

It covers the history of computing and comparing machines from the early
1900's to about 1950 -- devices employing photocells, relays, gas-filled
tubes, microfilm, punched optical tape, mechanical integrators, etc. There
is a fair amount of crypto relevance as it passes through WWII and the
cracking of cyphers becomes important. It's also a tale of overly-ambitious
projects that rarely worked, beaurocratic bumbling, influence, and
ignorance.

_Information and Secrecy. Vannevar Bush, Ultra, and the Other Memex_.
Colin Burke
The Scarecrow Press Inc.
1994
ISBN 0-8108-2783-2


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