In 1997, the computer was still a relatively new tool---a sleek and unforgiving machine that was beyond the grasp of most users. With intimate and unflinching detail, software engineer Ellen Ullman examines the strange ecstasy of being at the forefront of the predominantly male technological revolution, and the difficulty of translating the inherent messiness of human life into artful and efficient code.
Close to the Machine is an elegant and revelatory mediation on the dawn of the digital era. With a New Introduction by Jaron Lanier
Reviews
Amazon.com Review
If there is such a thing as a typical computer programmer, Ellen Ullman is not it. She's female, a former communist, bisexual, old enough to be a twentysomething's mom, and not a nerd. She runs her own computer-consulting business in San Francisco and in Close to the Machine explores a world in which "the real world and its uses no longer matter." This memoir examines the relationship between human and machine, between material and cyberworlds and reminds us that the body and soul exist before and after any machine. The wit Ullman brings to her National Public Radio commentaries shines through in the prose.
A Salon Best Book of the Year
“Close to the Machine may be the best---it's certainly the most human---book to have emerged thus far from the culture of Silicon Valley. Ullman is that rarity, a computer programmer with a poet's feeling for language.” ―Laura Miller, Salon
“Part memoir, part techie mantra, part observation on the ever-changing world of computer science…[Ullman is] a strong woman standing up to, and facing down, ‘obsolescence' in two different, particularly unforgiving worlds---modern technology and modern society.” ―The New York Times Book Review
“Fascinating…Chock-full of delicately profound insights into work, money, love, and the search for a life that matters.” ―Newsweek
“Ullman comes with her tech bona fides intact (she is, after all, a seasoned software engineer). But she also comes with novel material….We see the seduction at the heart of programming: embedded in the hijinks and hieroglyphics are the esoteric mysteries of the human mind.” ―Wired
“For someone sitting so close to the machine, Ellen Ullman possesses a remarkably wide-angle perspective on the technology culture she inhabits.” ―The Village Voice
“This book is a little masterpiece….I have never read anything like it.” ―Andrei Codrescu
About the Author
Ellen Ullman is an American computer programmer and author. She has written novels as well as articles for various publications, including Harper's Magazine, Wired, The New York Times, and Salon. Her essays and novels analyze the human side of the world of computer programming. Ullman earned a bachelor's degree in English at Cornell University in the early 1970s. She then turned to business programming in the following years. She eventually began writing about her experiences as a programmer in 1995 when she wrote an essay titled "Out of Time: Reflections on the Programming Life." She lives in San Francisco.
All Identifiers : isbn:978-1-250-02458-9
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Formats : EPUB
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Single Author : Ellen Ullman
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Title Part Two : Technophilia and Its Discontents
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