Product Description

In 1821, 30-year-old inventor and mathematician Charles Babbage was poring over a set of printed mathematical tables with his friend, the astronomer John Herschel. Finding error after error in the manually evaluated results, Babbage made an exclamation, the consequences of which would not only dominate the remaining 50 years of his life, but also lay the foundations for the modern computer industry: "I wish to God these calculations had been executed by steam!" A few days later, he set down a plan to build a machine that would carry out complex mathematical calculations without human intervention and, at least in theory, without human errors. The only technology to which he had access for solving the problem was the cogwheel escapement found inside clocks. Babbage saw that a machine constructed out of hundreds of escapements, cunningly and precisely linked, might be able to handle calculations mechanically. The story of his lifelong bid to construct such a machine is a triumph of human ingenuity, will and imagination.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #150753 in Books
• Published on: 2001-08-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

Review
A vivid biography of 'the father of the computer' Charles Babbage [1791-1871] whose life's work was to construct a machine that would carry out complex mathematical calculations without human intervention. The only technology available to him was the cogwheel escapement found inside clocks and the story of his untiring efforts make for a triumph of ingenuity, will and imagination.

About the Author
Doron Swade is senior curator at the Science Museum in London, and the instigator of the construction of one of Babbage's Difference Engines, completed in 1991.

Customer Reviews

One of the least known inventors of the Victorian Age
This is a fine book about one of the least known inventors of the Victorian age. It had me enthralled from start to finish and I could hardly put it down - just like a good novel! The second part of the book deals with a modern day attempt to build Babbage's Engine, the result of which is displayed today in London's Science Museum for all to see.

A popular science book that reads like a thriller
I loved this book. It tells the story of Charles Babbage, a nineteenth-century all round genius who tried to build a computer (using cogwheels) about 150 years before computers became possible! Babbage's story is a tense and fascinating one, and features many of the most interesting and talented people of the Victorian period. The author tells the story in gripping, precise language that makes the book completely compulsive reading. What's more, you get two science thrillers here for the price of one, for Babbage's story has a dramatic modern sequel which Babbage himself would certainly never have imagined. Oh, and there's a beautiful Countess in the story (Lord Byron's only legitimate child) for good measure! Like Dava Sobel's 'Longitude', Doron Swade's 'The Cogwheel Braiun' is a real-life science story about something that really matters, and in a class of its own.

Wow
This book was recommended to me by one of my computer science lecturers, and it really is a very good book. The information on Charles Babbage's struggle to make his Engines is interesting and informative. The second half of the book is dedicated to the modern take production of difference engine no. 2, and it really keeps you on the edge of your seat! This book is a must for anyone with an interest in computers and history.