The Cartoon Guide to the Computer Paperback – September 3, 1991

Larry Gonick has become one of my favorite people in the universe. He writes these crazy guides in a way that really boils the information down so virtually anyone can understand his topic, whether it's about physics, world history, American history, genetics, chemistry, statistics, or in this case the basics of what makes a computer work and how, Mr Gonick provides the information in a concise, easily understood manner using simple humor as the best tool for memorizing actual information that I've ever seen. I have aced college courses and impressed the hell out of college professors during class with what I've learned from these books. In this occasion, I wanted to bridge the gap between the hardware that makes up a computer, and the software and code that makes a computer do stuff. In this day and age most people have at least some idea about both hardware and software, but almost none actually seem to know how we go from one to the other. This book fills in the gaps, it gives you the basic understanding of how things work enough to allow you to see a computer as a whole logical structure, rather than two separate lists of semi mystical, hazily understood categories of hardware and software. This gives you the basic foundation to really properly understand computers.

Interesting book

The book was in a very good condition.!!!

It's a bit dated now, but still a fun read. The history of computing and some computer science fundamentals are actually covered very nicely. From truth tables to gates to simple programs it's all in here. If you're interested in some light reading on the history of computing and the low level apparatus that makes it work then I'd recommend it.

Presents timeless concepts that apply to the operation of computers. For an introduction to fundamentals of computing science this is an excellent read.

good computer book and it's easy to read

ok

"The Cartoon Guide to the Computer" by Larry Gonick is another of his informative cartoons about different subjects. This book was originally titled "The Cartoon Guide to Computer Science", and was published in 1983. So much has happened in the world of computers since 1983, that this book has become very dated. This book still works as a history of Computers, but the parts of the book which focus more on the current state of computers is no longer relevant, nor was it when the book was published again in 1991 by HarperPerennial.The areas that are well done include the history of the subject and related subjects, the overview of how computers work, the sections on logic and binary numbers. The parts that are poor are those on the PC, and BASIC programming, which suffer from being out of date and no longer relevant. There are several subjects that are missing too, such as networking and the Internet. If you are seeking a light-hearted trip down memory lane in the field of computers, then this might be a good choice, otherwise you may want to look elsewhere. In 1983, this probably would have been a four star book, but today I can only give it two.

Really frustrating, I waited for more than 2 weeks and ended up receiving the wrong book. The seller told me that they are going to give my money back...but anyway they did not offer any other option (at least suggesting to send the book a couple of days latter...). It seems to me that they did not really have the book...It was supposed to be a gift, I guess now I have to find something else.

On entend partout que l'informatique est le monde de l'éphémère, un monde qui se renouvelle à une cadence effrénée, qui organise sa propre obsolescence... C'est sans doute vrai des produits et de l'industrie informatique, mais c'est vraiment faux des principes. Il existe des principes informatiques durables ! Tout bêtement une science informatique... et l'immense qualité du Cartoon Guide to Computer Science de Larry Gonick est de n'introduire que des principes informatiques durables et de les présenter de la façon la plus attractive qui soit. Ce livre d'informatique a 40 ans, et il n'y a pas une page qui doive être mise à jour ! Mais la raison en est simple ; il a su ne parler que de principes durables avec au passage des portraits de découvreurs durables comme Shannon et Turing. On ne peut que souhaiter une réédition et une traduction en français pour le rendre accessible au plus grand nombre.

All Larry Gonick's stuff is a must for anyone willing to just learn or even to improve teaching skills. That's my case and I'm collecting all his stuff, Reading and re-Reading in order to be a better teacher!!