Empire of the Sum

Empire of the Sum by Keith Houston (2023 W. W. Norton & Company hardcover 374pp)

 

Empire of the Sum is a 300+ page book about the history of the calculator. That fact may put you off from reading it immediately but I urge you to reconsider if you have any interest in technology, innovation, invention and stories of the little-known giants whose shoulders we all stand upon.

I don’t know if it’s a stipulation of his contract but all three of Keith Huston’s books to date have been exquisite little hardbacks – well designed and illustrated and obviously produced by a publisher who puts in the maximum effort. Shady Characters (2013) looked at the history and use of unusual typographic characters while The Book (2016) followed the long and often surprising history of the book as a physical object.

Empire of the Sum is divided up into 15 main chapters, each centered around one of the ‘greatest hits’ of calculating machine history. It starts with the human hand itself and goes through to the invention of computer spreadsheet programs. At first, I was unhappy at this arrangement as I felt this would skip many intermediate steps but upon reading further, I was happy to discover the author often loops back within each chapter to describe other developments and puts the device in question into its proper context. Many of the lessor-known thinkers and inventors from history are also given due credit for their part in the general advancement of calculator and eventually computing technology.

In other hands this could be a total bore-fest but Houston is a skillful and engaging writer. His frequent use of humour and historical anecdotes brings the narrative to life.

The rapid rise of discrete calculating machines in the late 20^th century and their apparent fall in the early 21^st is a fascinating story in itself. The world is now full of unused old calculators stuffed into cupboards and drawers as their function has largely been absorbed into computers and their recent offspring the smartphone. I'm not sure how I feel about events that took place essentially during my lifetime now being part of a historical study.

I enjoyed the tale Houston had to tell, it might be a little too niche for many readers but it is well worth your time to dip into and perhaps learn more about how we got to our current technological situation.

 

Into The Uncanny

 Into The Uncanny by Danny Robins (2023 BBC Books Kindle eBook 341pp)

 

Danny Robins was a low-profile UK author and playwright who ventured into producing and fronting paranormal-themed podcasts during the Covid lockdowns and found himself becoming something of a celebrity. Broadcast by the BBC, Uncanny became the most popular production and led to a recent spin-off television series and this book.

I’ve never actually listened to any of the Uncanny podcasts (or seen the TV programme) so this has been my introduction to the author’s trademark wit and style.

It’s easy to understand Robins’ popularity – he positions himself as an every-man investigator discovering the story along with the audience and reacting as they would at every twist and turn. He’s chatty, jokey and asks the reader to question their own beliefs before judging others.

The bulk of this book is taken up by just four main ‘cases’ – The apparent Poltergeist phenomena experienced by a young expat Australian living in Rome, apparitions and sounds experienced by some families in the English town of Averham, the dark fate of a woman seemingly being foretold by a Ouija Board and the ongoing UFO experiences a man in North-East England.

In each case the witnesses’ stories are told then Robins diverges off to talk about related topics and the history of similar events. Sometimes he interviews experts or sets out to research topics himself.

For a seemingly simple book, its very skillfully written. The text often loops back to earlier topics and how they connect with what’s currently being discussed. When new information comes to light the author drops it into the text and adds suspense about coming revelations.

For most of the cases there’s more than what first meets the eye and we follow Robins as he uncovers earlier experiences and possible explanations for them.

While most of the book involves supposed ghosts, his venture into the UFO phenomenon is welcome although it is somewhat slight. It does however set him on a path pondering what could be in common between the two paranormal fields and he comes up with some tentative theories that aren’t a million miles from my own thinking.

The major weakness in the book (in my opinion) is that the author seems too naive and trusting when it comes to witness accounts – he can’t seem to imagine why people might be fantasists or simply liars. Some of the experts he quotes are a little lacking as well.

Overall, it’s good to read a modern book on these topics which is fairly balanced rather than being mired in true-believer woo territory. Early on in the text Robins asked the reader if they are “Team Believer” or “Team Sceptic” and goes on to present evidence that could swing you either way. It’s a refreshing take on these things which probably goes a long way in explaining the author’s current popularity.