{"product_id":"ibm-and-computing-william-c-shaffer-9781735807836","title":"IBM and Computing: The Story of the Iconic Company Amid Technological Progress from the Abacus to AI","description":"\u003cp\u003eComputing's early focus on speed for scientific calculations gave way to commercial applications, playing to the strengths of the small company that would become IBM. With a focus on technology, marketing, and perhaps a dash of monopoly, IBM climbed to market dominance and widespread admiration. Spurred by ambitions to grow even larger, IBM's fortunes faltered. Lou Gerstner, the former \"Cookie Man\" of RJR Nabisco, pulled the company back from catastrophe. Unfortunately, his successors embraced financial schemes, ignoring the fundamental imperative of innovation. The pace of technology is unforgiving, and even an IBM would discover this. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe author provides deft storytelling with well-drawn portraits of the people and ideas that propelled computing forward. He deciphers the inner workings and import of each technology transformation. The book is a compelling story of how IBM and computing transformed the world, and how a company so iconic in the 20\u003csup\u003eth\u003c\/sup\u003e Century became so troubled in the 21\u003csup\u003est\u003c\/sup\u003e. Today, a decidedly smaller IBM struggles to regain relevance, let alone its former dominance. With AI and quantum computers poised to dramatically reshape the computing world, will IBM be part of the continuing story? \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe book differs from the many existing books on IBM: \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIt tells the extraordinary story of IBM but within the context of the relentless forward march of computing technology beginning thousands of years ago with the abacus.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe reader will come away with a greater understanding of the technologies and strategies that were critical to the company's success. \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIt is an insider's account, with academic quality research and rigor, and the cooperation of IBM. \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhere most IBM books treat the company as big mainframe computers and little else, the author reveals the lesser-known story of the smaller IBM, an upstart division with personal and midrange computers that grew into a $14 billion business. \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMost importantly, the story pulls no punches. The author chronicles the failed financial strategies and missed technology waves that were the company's undoing. \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e William C. Shaffer\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1735807834\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781735807836\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e William C. Shaffer\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 01\/30\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 894\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 2.98lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 1.88d","brand":"William C. Shaffer","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":48440744476927,"sku":"9781735807836","price":34.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_832a1b2e-331c-4223-89ef-5c06c103821e.jpg?v=1777184515","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/ibm-and-computing-william-c-shaffer-9781735807836","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}