Kurt W. Beyer

Not recommended if you want to learn about Grace Hopper, but recommended if you're interested in early computing, programming, and the first compilers.

This one was a little bit of a bait and switch - I learned as much about the people Grace Hopper worked with as I did about her - maybe more. I'm assuming because she worked so much, there wasn't much else to tell, beyond that it drove her to drink! It was interesting to learn about the early women coders that she worked with. Sadly, business machine history can be a little dry.

Grace Hopper's story is incredible, but the book could have done with a bit more editing. Some phrases and sentences are repeated almost verbatim in multiple places in the book, and a whole paragraph appears in nearly the exact same form in the last two - almost as though the book was reorganized in a rush before a deadline.

I really liked this book. There were some dry bits, yes, however the author seemed to really capture the spirit of Admiral Hopper. I had not known how varied and holistic her education was before reading this book. It certainly makes more sense now that she was able to think so innovatively.

I'd really recommend this book to anyone looking for a female role model, a military role model or to find out about how the computer age began. Really interesting reading.