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A review by bluestarfish
Close to the Machine: Technophilia and Its Discontents by Ellen Ullman
5.0
Ellen Ullman started work as a professional programmer in the 70s and she writes about her life as a software engineer in field. This was not what I was expecting and it was much better for it! It is a memoir of a very specific point in time, and from such a fascinating point of view. Her memoir has an astonishing description of the mindsets of programming and getting close to the machine. But it also comes out of that space to explore the personal and the impact of what was a swirling swoosh of activity and money (and even end users at some points).
The heady pace of learning languages and running projects on sheer willpower and belief that you can figure it out in time sounded exhausting just reading about it. Ullman manages to paint a picture of what is intoxicating about such lifestyles though, so that as non-participants you can just about get a glimpse of this different world. I've started to read more about the technological debt that is accumulating and there seems to be quite a bit of that originating from these days. And this was written in 1997! I'm so glad I've now heard of Ellen Ullman and I intend to read more. (I'm sorry I was expecting this to be a very straightforward history account...it was so much better.)
The heady pace of learning languages and running projects on sheer willpower and belief that you can figure it out in time sounded exhausting just reading about it. Ullman manages to paint a picture of what is intoxicating about such lifestyles though, so that as non-participants you can just about get a glimpse of this different world. I've started to read more about the technological debt that is accumulating and there seems to be quite a bit of that originating from these days. And this was written in 1997! I'm so glad I've now heard of Ellen Ullman and I intend to read more. (I'm sorry I was expecting this to be a very straightforward history account...it was so much better.)