If Then: How Simulmatics Corporation Invented the Future
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- Create Date：2021-09-24 06:51:21
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- Author：Jill Lepore
- ISBN：1324091126
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Summary
The Simulmatics Corporation， founded in 1959， mined data， targeted voters， accelerated news， manipulated consumers， destabilized politics， and disordered knowledge—decades before Facebook， Amazon， and Cambridge Analytica。 Although Silicon Valley likes to imagine that it has no past， the scientists of Simulmatics are almost undoubtedly the long-dead ancestors of Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk—or so argues Jill Lepore， distinguished Harvard historian and New Yorker staff writer， in this “hilarious， scathing， and sobering” （David Runciman） account of the origins of predictive analytics and behavioral data science。
Reviews
Gordon
，
absolutely brilliant。 fascinating subject， I adore Jill's writing style。 she presents the views of minority， women， and other protected groups alongside the events of the tale。 Just an amazing read。 absolutely brilliant。 fascinating subject， I adore Jill's writing style。 she presents the views of minority， women， and other protected groups alongside the events of the tale。 Just an amazing read。 。。。more
Graham
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3。5
Lindsay Spencer
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This is a fascinating book。 I’ve studied and even participated in the Data Science field， but never it’s use in politics。
Jim French
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Exaggerated。
Caleb
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Good， thought-provoking book about the Simulmatics Corporation， a company that I had never heard of but ended up being far before it's time in trying to quantify life into data。 It started with predicting presidential campaigns， and then went to Vietnam， street riots， and data generally。It's a good story and one I didn't know。 Lepore has an engaging writing style which is great。 Still， there were faults。 There were a couple of factual errors I noticed without looking hard。 The story itself felt Good， thought-provoking book about the Simulmatics Corporation， a company that I had never heard of but ended up being far before it's time in trying to quantify life into data。 It started with predicting presidential campaigns， and then went to Vietnam， street riots， and data generally。It's a good story and one I didn't know。 Lepore has an engaging writing style which is great。 Still， there were faults。 There were a couple of factual errors I noticed without looking hard。 The story itself felt disjointed in the end and relied in parts too much on the habit of ending chapters with foreshadowing devices。 Thus， in the end it felt both too long and too short。 。。。more
Tigre
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There is a line repeated throughout this book that captures something puzzling and fundamental: "。。。such a thing （a） cannot work， （b） is immoral， （c） should be declared illegal。" The book itself seems to vacillate between three similar and incompatible judgements about the work of Simulmatics Corp。 On the one hand， their effort is portrayed as fraudulent or it is implied that the pursuit of computational prediction of human behavior is intrinsically impossible。 On another， Simulmatics is held up There is a line repeated throughout this book that captures something puzzling and fundamental: "。。。such a thing （a） cannot work， （b） is immoral， （c） should be declared illegal。" The book itself seems to vacillate between three similar and incompatible judgements about the work of Simulmatics Corp。 On the one hand， their effort is portrayed as fraudulent or it is implied that the pursuit of computational prediction of human behavior is intrinsically impossible。 On another， Simulmatics is held up as the foundational forerunner of the unstoppable behavioral juggernauts that have already taken over the planet （Facebook etc）。 On another， the book lamely suggests that something should be done （regulation？） about this！ The narrative never seems to reconcile the contradictory judgements of ineffectuality， omniscience， and opportunity for control （as if make-believe requires restraint or the inevitable is capable of being restrained）。 What the book makes clear is， that whatever the particulars， those men with computers are bad。 The story amounts to a tedious ad-hominem attack on the the past hundred years' galling lack of respect for two subjects the author clearly （and understandably） cares deeply about — the 20th century's treatment of women， and the 21st's of the humanities。 There is nothing wrong with this philosophically， but narratively it becomes many pages of indictment about the personal failings of the humans involved （their relationships with spouses， clients， and alcohol） and barely a paragraph of substance about the actual intellectual work they undertook。 Coupled with the breezy social commentary about the current state of technology， the net effect was that of an ultimately unserious attempt to understand the implications （good or ill） or importance （or not） of this fascinating historical prelude to our current socio-technical mess。 Which is a shame。 。。。more
Moses Bakst
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A great deep dive into the beginnings of the computer age and early Cold War US politics。 Ultimately this book feels more like a conversation with Ms。 Lepore， involving topics only a reader around in the US from 2015-2021 would have a connection to。 I enjoyed the read， but it’s not the style I would expect from a history book。
Melissa
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Disappointing。 I had high hopes for this book， and it definitely did not live up to them。 The subject matter seems like it would be fascinating， but the whole book was very disorganized。 It was more or less chronological， but it seemed like Lepore was trying to organize her thoughts by themes， which she failed at miserably。 The themes were unclear and she kept going off on tangents （for example the large chunks of text dedicated to discussions of Eugene Burdick）。 There was more on the culture/po Disappointing。 I had high hopes for this book， and it definitely did not live up to them。 The subject matter seems like it would be fascinating， but the whole book was very disorganized。 It was more or less chronological， but it seemed like Lepore was trying to organize her thoughts by themes， which she failed at miserably。 The themes were unclear and she kept going off on tangents （for example the large chunks of text dedicated to discussions of Eugene Burdick）。 There was more on the culture/politics of the 1960s and 1970s in general （as a rather superficial， condensed overview） than there was on Simulmatics。 The information given about what the company actually DID （and it doesn't seem like they actually did much except waste taxpayer and client money） was sparse， and sometimes mentioned just in passing。 I was hoping to hear more about what they actually DID， and in more detail。 You learn more about the personal lives and marriages of the scientists involved than about what the company actually contributed。 There was quite an emphasis on what Ithiel de Sola Pool thought， wrote， and tried to do （which makes sense based on her inspiration for the book and much of her source material）， but I was left wondering how much of an impact even he had。 It would have been nice to see how his work was really built on， which led to what we have today。 You can make the most accurate predictions in the world， but it doesn't matter at all if nobody hears about them。Very repetitive at times - did you know that Schlesinger lived by Pool？There were also a few factual things that irked me a bit:- On page 69， she talks about how Grace Hopper created the first compiler。 Actually， the mistreatment of and dismissive attitude towards women is a theme Lepore keeps coming back to。 As a woman in a technical field， I get it， but here， it mucks up the already tenuous narrative and makes it even more difficult to figure out Lepore's point。 Anyway。。。back to Grace Hopper。。。she didn't create a compiler in the sense that we think of a compiler - where you can write in a higher level language。 That was the Autocode that was created at Manchester。 Hopper was a very cool lady， but don't stretch the truth。- On page 76， Lepore talks about Sputnik's surveillance capability。 Maybe this comment was supposed to be tongue-in-cheek to show how people felt back in those days， but that didn't come through well。 Sputnik beeped。 It didn't have any surveillance capability at all。 Too many people believe that it did already without this confusing comment。Lepore also keeps talking about the Vietnam War and decries the US involvement in it。 She talks about all the mismanagement of it。 While there is certainly plenty of blame to go around， she failed to mention the fact that the US hamstrung itself by agreeing to a bunch of rules。 I read a pilot's account of his time in Vietnam and he talks about how frustrating it is to watch ships unloading weapons and ammunition and handing them off to the VietCong， knowing that they will be used to kill his buddies， but unable to do anything because it is "out of bounds"。 Another side of the whole using a model to get voters to vote the way they want thing: what isn't mentioned and what I also find disturbing is that this was the start of politicians figuring out what people want to hear based on the data and not stating what they actually believe。 Maybe this is why all of our political candidates have been terrible within at least my voting memory。 It is often hard to distinguish between them and it often comes down to me picking the one I hate the least。Anyway， in summary， could have been a really good book but instead is rambling and half-baked。 。。。more
Ellen
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Wow！ Excellent！
PamE
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If Then lays down a path from the publics introduction to computing to where we are today。 Having worked in the industry from ARPA to AI before retiring， there are so many topics that are spot on。 There is one message that Ms。 Lepore seems to advocate where I disagree， government control of the internet。 Should they be trusted to determine what is seen and not seen？ Love the last sentence… What matters is what remains， endures， and cures。 Congratulations to Jill Lepore and team for a job well do If Then lays down a path from the publics introduction to computing to where we are today。 Having worked in the industry from ARPA to AI before retiring， there are so many topics that are spot on。 There is one message that Ms。 Lepore seems to advocate where I disagree， government control of the internet。 Should they be trusted to determine what is seen and not seen？ Love the last sentence… What matters is what remains， endures， and cures。 Congratulations to Jill Lepore and team for a job well done！ 。。。more
Candy
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i think i was like 28% through this book and then my libby checkout expired。 i want a hard copy， this book slaps， the amount of history and detail and。。。 yeah。 this is how non-fiction history is supposed to be written。edit: on second thought， maybe there is a little too much unnecessary detail that detracts from the main point。 ok this but minus a few thousand words
Aina Demirova
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Too descriptive and lacks refection， feels like it is a compilation of various archives and facts rather than a story。 Out of 320 pages the beginning is captivating （50 pages） and end contains real thoughts of the author （50 pages）， everything else is soulless description。
Keeley Bombard
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I found this utterly fascinating！ I love Jill Lepore's writing style and the way she makes historical narratives character driven， and I learned so much！ It's a 4。5 for me！ I found this utterly fascinating！ I love Jill Lepore's writing style and the way she makes historical narratives character driven， and I learned so much！ It's a 4。5 for me！ 。。。more
John Holland
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Good and interesting ideas， but the writing is so fluffy that it’s burdensome to read。 I recommend her podcast the Last Archive instead。
Niranjan
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Fascinating read on the history of surveillance capitalism in USA， and the role of Simulmatics in setting up the stage for it。 Absolutely loved it！
Ginny Hilton
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Lepore does it again！Another fascinating look at historical events successfully leading the reader to the present。 The amount of in-depth research into the origins of behavioral science from post WWII to the social media giants of today is impressive。 Lepore’s writing is always clear， interesting and packed with little known historical detail。 If you enjoy modern US history you will love this book。
Jeff
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If you are interested in the history of the fifties and sixties， this book will bring you a new perspective of that period。
Neil Gordon
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Great nonfiction about the origins of the Information Age Lepore tells the story of the scientists and others that first started behavioral science and married it to early computers。 The story of the company simulomatics takes us through the politics and science from the 1950’s to today。 The origins of the internet， social media and the use of data for the manipulation of everything we know today has its origins in this story。 We’ll written and a very good readNeil
Chris
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How can I describe this。。。 This book at what it pitches to be about。。is not in my opinion the focus。 The book meanders back and forth between political history and the actual titular Simulmatics corporation。 Too often in this book does it go on about the political history and not into the philosophy， creation， and background of the corporation。 I know more about the JFK， Addley Stevenson， and Eisenhower campaigns， than I do about what the hell Simulmatics was about and how it grew。 I could easil How can I describe this。。。 This book at what it pitches to be about。。is not in my opinion the focus。 The book meanders back and forth between political history and the actual titular Simulmatics corporation。 Too often in this book does it go on about the political history and not into the philosophy， creation， and background of the corporation。 I know more about the JFK， Addley Stevenson， and Eisenhower campaigns， than I do about what the hell Simulmatics was about and how it grew。 I could easily see another author being able to wrangle the topics into something that is more engaging， and focused more about the growth and power of the company and what it was attempting。 Instead there's this tepid， luke warm retelling of events with the ever so slight sprinkling of Simulmatics on top。 The book continues to read more like a flaccid attempt to cover what could have been a really interesting think piece on the reasoning and logic of Simulmatics， what it meant。。drawing correlations to modern day data storage。 Instead the book veers so far afield， I quickly get lost in whatever other narrative she's talking about at any time。 Currently we're reliving the assassinatino of JFK in detail， with absolutely no ties to how this relates to the Simulmatics Corp。 This book is like someone who was given a writing assignment， had no idea how to fill 300 pages of content， so they padded the ever loving typeset out of it。 Going on benders about any historical event in the 50's and 60's and 70's and lightly sprinkling in whatever scraps of knowledge they dug up on Simulmatics。 The book could have dived into the philosophy of who owns data， what it means to house it， the morale implications， how it affects world events up to the modern day， how the company worked etc。。 This book gives you none of this， and orbits around this scattered narrative of political events， never tying back to the company in question。And I know I said up top， I won't let the narration color my review， but while I'm a roll here， the narrator has this blood boiling habit and raising her voice up to some mock 1950's news reporter accent which just sounds inane and silly。 It removes any seriousness from what she's reading。 The very last portion of the book ends in what I was hoping this entire book would have focused on。 The author seems to make a mad scramble， as if she remembered the thesis of the book， and crams a bunch of topical information and idea's our way， but it's too little too late。 The book lost the focus of this so many times and never capitalized on making any of it the point of focus。 I felt like any discussion of Simulmatics was hindsight， secondary and a big "oh by the way"。I gleaned nothing from this book except the idea that it existed， it did tests for the JFK election， and riots。。and that it didn't stick around long。 All context and importance was dragged through the mud and compeletely lost。 。。。more
Charles Pearson
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Must reading for anyone concerned with the preservation of humanitarian values in our societyBorn in 1942 I lived through the Eisenhower years， through the Vietnam era， on into the seemingly ever increasingly dystopian present。 I had no idea that the data driven algorithms now used to manipulate my behavior had their origins in those years。
Kira
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I was riveted by Jill Lepore's story of Simulmatics Corporation and its impact on 1950s and 1960s elections， the Vietnam War， and much more。 The implications for communications， social media， and so much of contemporary life today were vast。 Looking back on it from 2021， as American culture is deeply defined by， and divided by， a host of identity issues， it is hard not think about how and why this strain of human intelligence was used and misused for politics， advertising， race relations， and mo I was riveted by Jill Lepore's story of Simulmatics Corporation and its impact on 1950s and 1960s elections， the Vietnam War， and much more。 The implications for communications， social media， and so much of contemporary life today were vast。 Looking back on it from 2021， as American culture is deeply defined by， and divided by， a host of identity issues， it is hard not think about how and why this strain of human intelligence was used and misused for politics， advertising， race relations， and more。 （And so intriguing to wonder where our species might be if we'd focused this "if/then" thinking and and these "prediction tools" toward health， equity， and preservation of human life on this planet。 But I digress。） 。。。more
Bob
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tIt started out so good; somehow it got bogged down after the transition to Vietnam and Simulmatics。 I do think it's an important story and says a lot of how the media has （mis）interpreted tech over 60 years。 It also describes again how nefarious the politics and players around Vietnam were and how little interested they had in facts。 tIt started out so good; somehow it got bogged down after the transition to Vietnam and Simulmatics。 I do think it's an important story and says a lot of how the media has （mis）interpreted tech over 60 years。 It also describes again how nefarious the politics and players around Vietnam were and how little interested they had in facts。 。。。more
Kathleen loeb
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Don’t let the intro throw you off。 Great content。
Fred Forbes
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Actually， this was probably more interesting to me than it might be to the public at large。 My Dad helped run Kennedy's 1960 campaign in NH and WV and was deeply involved in the convention so it was a great trip down memory lane to review many of the political happenings at the time。 Also， I've long been a bit of a "techie" so it was fun to see the development of the internet， data storage， etc。On the negative side and the reason I have rated it down a bit is that the writing is a bit choppy and Actually， this was probably more interesting to me than it might be to the public at large。 My Dad helped run Kennedy's 1960 campaign in NH and WV and was deeply involved in the convention so it was a great trip down memory lane to review many of the political happenings at the time。 Also， I've long been a bit of a "techie" so it was fun to see the development of the internet， data storage， etc。On the negative side and the reason I have rated it down a bit is that the writing is a bit choppy and repetitive and the liberal bias of the university elite clearly beams through - and this from an independent with decided left leaning tendencies and it can get a bit draggy in places。Still for me， an interesting and informative read。 。。。more
Brad Hudson
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Stop me if you’ve heard this one。 An obscure company gathers data， puts it a database， and applies behavioral science to help a candidate become President。 No， not 2016， Cambridge Analytica and Trump — 1960， Simulmatics Corp， and Kennedy。Jill LaPorte shows us in detail the first attempt to use computerized “big data” combined with human behavioral science to influence an election。 And she takes us on a wild ride where the same techniques are employed to win hearts and minds in a culture the comp Stop me if you’ve heard this one。 An obscure company gathers data， puts it a database， and applies behavioral science to help a candidate become President。 No， not 2016， Cambridge Analytica and Trump — 1960， Simulmatics Corp， and Kennedy。Jill LaPorte shows us in detail the first attempt to use computerized “big data” combined with human behavioral science to influence an election。 And she takes us on a wild ride where the same techniques are employed to win hearts and minds in a culture the company and its experts know nothing about。A fascinating bit of history that LaPorte rescues from the dustbin of obscurity and deftly shows us history rhyming， if not repeating。 。。。more
Thurston Hunger
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Starts off with Lepore flair in writing， and such detail that I was waiting to later learn she was one of the kids playing outside the geodesic dome。 I wonder if this spun out of her "These Truths" and researching one of the villains from that， polling。At times this reminded me of Xerox lore （my Dad had a lengthy career with that company， infamous for the things they almost invented infamous to the PARC praisers， the way the copier is to us mere mortals）。 Simulmatics is pitched as ahead of the G Starts off with Lepore flair in writing， and such detail that I was waiting to later learn she was one of the kids playing outside the geodesic dome。 I wonder if this spun out of her "These Truths" and researching one of the villains from that， polling。At times this reminded me of Xerox lore （my Dad had a lengthy career with that company， infamous for the things they almost invented infamous to the PARC praisers， the way the copier is to us mere mortals）。 Simulmatics is pitched as ahead of the Google curve and the Cambridge Analytica graph/graft。 I think there was one page that listed some of the parameters they were charting， but how they were precisely measured， I don't recall。Nor do their founders I suspect。 Not only did they precede Big Data's big rise， they at times come across as a pitch-perfect sales spin on vapor- or slide-ware。 As Rod Stewart sang， every pitcher tells a story。。。。 As for the book 's trajectory， Lepore gets somewhat bogged down in Vietnam as the company， and the country did。 She definitely includes a wide net to check in on some of the wives behind the men behind the electronic curtain which is not to slight some of the women who directly contributed and/or computed。 Some of the latter day persecution flew by a bit quickly， but was of interest to me。 And a very small， but intriguing character brought to my attention was Paul Baran。 Fortunate to live in an era where I can read a physical book （still a preferred medium for now） but quickly use AltaVista （or other search engine ;>） to investigate a person or idea who pops up。Anyways by the end of this somewhat large tome， my opinion of the Simulmatics company and story had grown as small as their stock evaluation。 Was this originally a short and potent magazine article？ 。。。more
Steve
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Excellent Writing: Meanders through the 50’s and 60’sJill Lenore is a thorough， smooth and enjoyable writer。 I did feel this book rambled around through many diverse topics while missing a little bit here and there。 In trying to determine where it was going - it took until what seemed to be an admission at the end that ignoring the past while attempting to predict or manipulate the future is essentially huxterism。If:Then tells the tale of Simulmatics which tries to see itself as a computer analy Excellent Writing: Meanders through the 50’s and 60’sJill Lenore is a thorough， smooth and enjoyable writer。 I did feel this book rambled around through many diverse topics while missing a little bit here and there。 In trying to determine where it was going - it took until what seemed to be an admission at the end that ignoring the past while attempting to predict or manipulate the future is essentially huxterism。If:Then tells the tale of Simulmatics which tries to see itself as a computer analytical company that could advise policy and predict behavior。 While the company was supposedly run by both Behavioral Scientists， many from MIT and analytical computer personnel - the science， advice， and the resulting fear and negativity seems very much overhyped。Several things were missing from this already chock full of stories book。 For a book that told of novelistic approach to some of these concepts and focused considerably on behaviorism there is absolutely no mention of BF Skinner （or Pavlov）。 And there is no mention of the methodology employed by Simulmatics; Markov decision processes or just plain statistical analysis。 Meaning truly predictive or merely analytical。 But generally failing and ultimately bankrupt by 1970。 We start essentially with the Stevenson campaign and ultimately meander through another Stevenson campaign and if finally a third attempt which ends up Kennedy’s turn with the advice of go for more of a civil rights approach。 We head into the company going into Viet Nam - with incredibly wasted and wrongheaded attempt to survey villages of Vietnamese and to involve themselves in manipulating Vietnamese opinion and American opinion while noting the failed history which was leaked out as the Pentagon Papers。Their system reminded me more of the fake chess playing machine called “The Turk”。 Towards the end was a bit of dipping in to the 1968 conventions and the election。 While Norman Mailer’s writing was described， I wouldn’t discuss convention coverage without a nod to Hunter Thompson writing in Rolling Stone and “Fear and Loathing” and perhaps Tom Wolfe。But if you know little of the era and nothing of this company it is an entertaining book。 I knew nothing of the Simulmatics company， but I’m reasonably knowledgeable about the time period。 。。。more
David
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This fascinating book covers the roughly 20-year period in American history， from the election of Eisenhower in 1952 to the Watergate scandal in 1972， as seen through the lens of the social scientists who founded Simulmatics Corporation in 1959。 Data processing technology advanced enormously during that period which also saw dramatic changes in American politics and society。 To this reader born in the mid-50’s who remembers programming in FORTRAN IV and submitting jobs on punch-cards in the late This fascinating book covers the roughly 20-year period in American history， from the election of Eisenhower in 1952 to the Watergate scandal in 1972， as seen through the lens of the social scientists who founded Simulmatics Corporation in 1959。 Data processing technology advanced enormously during that period which also saw dramatic changes in American politics and society。 To this reader born in the mid-50’s who remembers programming in FORTRAN IV and submitting jobs on punch-cards in the late 60’s， Lepore’s telling of the history is convincing。 It helps enormously that she had access to the papers and letters of key figures at Simulmatics， some of whom are still alive。 It’s a story well-told。 。。。more
Michael Burnam-Fink
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If Then is a fascinating and flawed account of how Simulmatics， a pioneering market research team， prefigured much of contemporary concerns around big data and surveillance capitalism， while failing in almost every venture it embarked on。 Lepore bounces between her primary protagonists and the great events that they failed to substantially influence or capitalize on to paint a picture of the 60s as a decade when a utopian dream of technocratic moderation became a nightmare of simulated insanity。 If Then is a fascinating and flawed account of how Simulmatics， a pioneering market research team， prefigured much of contemporary concerns around big data and surveillance capitalism， while failing in almost every venture it embarked on。 Lepore bounces between her primary protagonists and the great events that they failed to substantially influence or capitalize on to paint a picture of the 60s as a decade when a utopian dream of technocratic moderation became a nightmare of simulated insanity。Ed Greenfeld， the founder of Simulmatics， was a Madison Avenue ad man and backslapping hustlers， who frustrated at the perennial failure of his favored candidate Adlai Stevenson in 1952 and 1956， teamed up with social scientists in the nascent fields of behavioral science to create an election in a box， a computerized data model that would give a cannier Democrat an oraclucular advantage。 The first few reports went to the Kennedy campaign in the summer of 1960 suggested that he should embrace civil rights and Catholicism; that the votes of racists and anti-Catholics had already been lost， and he could shore up support among African-Americans and non-bigots。 Kennedy famously won by a narrow margin。 An article in Harper's Magazine by Thomas Morgan sold Simulmatics as a magic people machine that gave the Kennedy campaign strategic insights （Morgan would shortly join the company）， but Simulmatics proved best at selling itself， and failed to land subsequent opportunities。Madison Avenue was rightfully skeptical of the shoddy data bases and under theorized models of consumer behavior。 An attempt to use computers to model the 1964 election in near real time for the New York Times collapsed under a tidal waves of bugs and lack of technical experience with actual IBM mainframes。 The most successful project was an expansion to Saigon， to try and simulate how communist insurgencies could be defeated， but Simulmatics was never more than a tertiary player in McNamara's data-driven war。 After failing to deliver on an expensive contract， their efforts were cancelled by ARPA。Meanwhile， the personnelle of Simulmatics imploded in their own way。 Ed Greenfeld sunk into alcoholism。 Mathematician Bill McPhee was committed to an insane asylum for a time， and then mostly failed to deal with his bipolar disorder。 Political scientist/novelist Eugene Burdick （The Ugly American， among other didactic 60s political thrillers） used his insider access to skewer the company in his 1964 novel The 480， a reference to the 480 identified categories of people in the Simulmatics database。 Burdick died shortly thereafter of a heart attack。 Ithial de Sola Pool， a Trotskyite turned ardent cold warrior， pushed Simulmatics ever closer to the defense establishment， while fighting the rising peace movement in American universities。 Everybody's marriage fell apart。A last gasp at predicting urban race riots collapsed in 1968， and Simulmatics suffered an undignified bankruptcy in 1970。 Ithiel de Sola Pool had the longest successful career， serving as a neoconservative prophet of the nascent internet until his death in 1984。 Much like cybernetics， another trendy 1950s computerized synthesis， Simulmatics abilities never matched its ambitions。 Yet， as Lepore shows， the concerns raised then are the same as our current concerns around Facebook， face news， information warfare， and all that postmodern jazz。 Nothing is new under the sun， except in 2021 computers are fast enough and data models rich enough that it actually works。Lepore ably blends the "Mad Men but real" flawed personalities with the great events of this time， but I wish she'd been a little more detailed as an intellectual and technical historian。 I'm a lover of obsolete ideas and obsolete machines， and I'd have liked a little more detail on how it worked。 Still， a fascinating book on a mostly forgotten group of visionaries。 。。。more
Richard Thompson
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