Doug McCann

This is the only readily accessable book about CSIRAC, which was one of the earliest computers whose architecture resembled that of modern computers. It was built by Trevor Pearcey & Maston Beard from 1946. It ran it's first program in late 1949. In terms of the perennial question "Who built the earliest computer", CSIRAC was probably about number 4. What is the most remarkable is that the designers had no contact with the flurry of activity that was digital computer development post WW2. Some of them had visited the UK, but they came back to Australia and built CSIRAC. It last ran in 1964. It still survives, you can see it in the new Museum of Victoria. The book contains reminiscences and very short papers by many of the early users of CSIRAC, and a review of it's architecture, instruction set, etc, which is kept mercifully brief to avaid alienating the non-geeks readers. Of course the massive lead that this gave Australia in the 50's was soon lost, but at least this country tried, and succeeded, for a short while.
One fault of all these books of primary sources is that you get no contemporary view of the success/failure of the project, no birds-eye view as it were. Still, at least the reminiscences of some original designers and users have been captured here, and a future technical historian can use these in a future book.… (mehr)