A detailed narrative of the development of modern meteorological science in the post-war period in the United States, Weather by the Numbers provides a good case study for working with several problems in the history of twentieth century science: the role of military institutions in research; the conflict of theory and practice in defining research and applications; and the role expanding computational capacity would play in defining scientific fields.
WorldCat » Amazon »My favorite thing about following Schneier’s blog is his ability to maintain a relatively hard line on security issues while never seeming to tip from healthy skepticism to doctrinal zealotry. This book is a great overview of our post-Snowden state of affairs from just that perspective. It is both descriptive and prescriptive; aware of the roles that domestic governments, foreign governments, and private corporations all have to play in these problems; and able to accommodate the point of view that surveillance is sometimes necessary and beneficial. Seems like it would be particularly worthwhile as an introduction to these questions as well.
WorldCat » Amazon »I was mostly unaware of the Jack Dorsey portrayed by Bilton in this book (aside from being aware that there was something confusion about the ‘invention’ narrative at Twitter), but find it pretty convincing (and damning). I tend to be most interested in business books that explore problems and their solutions rather than telling juicy stories. This is not that book; I was frequently mildly frustrated that just when a deep dive seemed imminent, the scene ended. As a page-turner, though, it was captivating, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
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