Technology Biography

Alan Mathison Turing. Mathematician, philosopher, codebreaker, a founder of computer science, and the father of Artificial Intelligence, Turing was one of the most original thinkers of the last century - and the man whose work helped create the computer-driven world we now inhabit. But he was also an enigmatic figure, deeply reticent yet also strikingly naive. Turing's openness about his homosexuality at a time when it was an imprisonable offense ultimately led to his untimely death at the age of only 41.

The definitive inside account of the file-sharing revolution that overthrew the music industry, All the Rave reveals the family betrayal, greed, and mismanagement that hijacked one the most fundamental innovations of the Internet era. Named one of the three best books of 2003 by Investigative Reporters and Editors Inc., All the Rave has been out of print until now and unavailable in most formats. Author and veteran technology journalist Joseph Menn also wrote 2010's Fatal System Error: The Hunt for the New Crime Lords who are Bringing Down the Internet.

The original title of this text was Recollections of the Development of my Mind and Character. This memoir was intended for Darwin’s family and was written between May and August 1876.

To solve one of the great mathematical problems of his day, Alan Turing proposed an imaginary computer. Then, attempting to break a Nazi code during World War II, he successfully designed and built one, thus ensuring the Allied victory. Turing became a champion of artificial intelligence, but his work was cut short. As an openly gay man at a time when homosexuality was illegal in England, he was convicted and forced to undergo a humiliating "treatment" that may have led to his suicide.

It was not easy being a woman of ambition in early 20th-century England, much less one who wished to be a scientist. Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin overcame prodigious obstacles to become a woman of many firsts: the first to receive a PhD in astronomy from Radcliffe College, the first promoted to full professor at Harvard, the first to head a department there. And, in what has been called "the most brilliant PhD thesis ever written in astronomy", she was the first to describe what stars are made of.

A biography examining the life of Benjamin Franklin and his leadership as a statesman, scientist, inventor, and printer.

The New York Times best seller Women in Science highlights the contributions of 50 notable women to the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), from the ancient to the modern world, who have paved the way for the next generation of female engineers, biologists, mathematicians, doctors, astronauts, physicists, and more. This fascinating collection contains information about relevant topics, such as lab equipment and rates of women currently working in STEM fields.

Three years ago, 32-year-old Markus "Notch" Persson of Stockholm was an unknown and bored computer programmer. Today, he is a multi-millionaire international icon. Minecraft, the "virtual Lego" game Markus crafted in his free time, has become one of the most talked about activities since Tetris. Talked about by tens of millions of people, in fact.It is the story of unlikely success, fast money, and the power of digital technology to rattle an empire. And it is about creation, exclusion, and the feeling of not fitting in.

Empire of the Air tells the story of three American visionaries - Lee de Forest, Edwin Howard Armstrong, and David Sarnoff - whose imagination and dreams turned a hobbyist's toy into radio, launching the modern communications age. Tom Lewis weaves the story of these men and their achievements into a richly detailed and moving narrative that spans the first half of the 20th century, a time when the American romance with science and technology was at its peak.

My beginner's book is your ticket to one of the coolest and most mysterious subjects out there. This isn't your average physics book. It's a portal to understanding the stuff that makes up... well, everything! Subatomic particles. Do not let their size fool you; they have a massive impact on the world around you—the fundamental part of how everything works and not as complex as you might fear.

From an eminent surgeon and historian comes the “by turns fascinating and ghastly” (The New York Times Book Review, Editors’ Choice) story of surgery’s development—from the Stone Age to the present day—blending meticulous medical research with vivid storytelling. There are not many...

The award-winning creator of popular survival stories turns his attention to his own real life adventures in Minnesota and Alaska as he prepares for the grueling Iditarod sled dog race.

Did you know that NASA uses mathematics for space travel? Meet Katherine Johnson, one of the first African-American and female mathematicians who worked for NASA. Learn about her life growing up in segregated America and her journey to pursue her education and dreams. Her mathematical calculations helped American astronauts to go to space, land on the moon, and return to earth safely in 1969!

In the late 1700s, young Louis Braille overcame his disability by inventing "night writing," a system of raised dots to help blind people read. This alphabet of raised dots allowed sightless people to live more independent lives.

Every visitor of Yosemite National Park in California should say "thank you" to one man: John Muir.

Galileo used his telescope to discover new and marvelous mysteries in the night sky!

Did you know the Nobel Prize is named after the man who invented dynamite? Learn all about the life of Alfred Nobel, who grew up in a desperately poor family.

Joseph Montgolfier and his brother Étienne developed the first balloon. But its first riders were a sheep, a rooster, and a duck!

Meet Doug Taron, a scientist who studies butterflies and other Insects & Arachnids at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum in Chicago.

An old timer regales the audience with the story of the Stanley brothers and their famous Stanley Steamer, a steam-powered automobile.