David Alan Grier – "Too Soon to Tell: Essays for the End of the Computer Revolution"

The Revolution is Over. The computer has won. It occupies a place in every aspect of our lives. Yet, we know little about the revolutionaries, the people who changed the world with computing technology.

Too Soon to Tell, David Alan Grier's newest book, tries to capture the lives of the people who developed computing technology and help us understand the sacrifices they made, the decisions they faced and the world they left behind. It is a book of essays, that explores the human landscape that welcomed the computer in the 1946, and guided its development over sixty years. These essays are built around a collection of unforgettable characters who help explain the nature of the computer age. These characters include the unstoppable Ro who, uncovered the obscene operating system; Bohannon, the fast talking computer marketeer; Mark, the programmer who was trying to make a living in Armenia; and, of course, Grier's father, who shepherded a community of computer users.

Grier, long-time columnist for Computer magazine, will join us for evening at the Computer History Museum to talk about the human side of the computer industry and the many individuals who helped build that industry. It will be an evening of insights and stories, as he talks about the essays in Too Soon to Tell. He will talk about the fascinating relationships that have worked in this industry and will explore that powerful relationship that has connected people and machines and institutions in the brief span of time that has marked the computer age.