Customer Reviews (1)

Family Historical Legacy
For those interested in heritage and the history lessons that are passed by mouth through family gatherings, A Will of My Own, the memoirs of F. William "Bill" Broome, is the book for you. Historical events of the twentieth century as lived through the common American family are brought to perspective and given relevance beyond textbook statements. Events include the great Depression and World War II.

Broomecaptures legacies of the old South from his native Georgia. His wit and humor stir the events of his outlined life from early childhood to senior citizen. The memoirs are mostly reflections, and circulate around personal life in the midst of deep political changes. They are at times dry and drawn out, but would be fully appreciated by any family member.

Stephanie S. Sawyer, author ... Read more

Product Description
Here is outdoor literature at it's best, written by a man who had a discerning eye and who was on a wave length with the life he encountered in the wilds. The reader shares the exhilaration and the discomforts of Harvey Broome on these outings and at the end puts down the book feeling that he has been on the seashores, in the deserts, and high on the mountains with a man who loved the earth and honored it for its mystery and beauty.-William O. Douglas ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A great historical look at southern New York State
Mrs. Thomas has taken a novel approach to a very interesting and enchanting subject.She looks upon the towns in and around Binghamton, NY with the whit and whimsey of someone who cares very deeply about the area and its rich history.Mrs. Thomas leaves no stone unturned in searching out the nooks and crannies of Broome County and describing in rich detail how these little hamlets got their names.A great read for anyone interested in the history of town names or New York State itself.Highly recommended!!!! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A Very Impressive Lady!
Grace Hopper's contributions to computing were very impressive - I knew that before reading this book because I was a COBOL programmer.Nonetheless, "Admiral of the Cyber Sea" provided a very informative and interesting biography of this lady.It was also interesting to learn of the signal achievements of her siblings - reminding me of President Eisenhower, one of many "stars" in his household.

Born in 1906, Grace Hopper graduated from Vassar, and got a PhD in mathematics from Yale in 1933.She married in '43, and divorced 15 years later.During WWII she followed her grandfather (an admiral) and joined the Navy - WAVES division.At that time she wrote programs for the Mark I computer housed in Harvard - focus was on ballistic trajectories, and accomplished at the speed of 3 operations/second.The Mark I was an electro-mechanical giant - 50' long, 8' tall, and 8' deep, with 3 million wire connections and weighing about 5 tons, and only having 72 words of storage.

The term "Bug" came about when the Mark II was stopped by a relay failure - a moth had been trapped inside one of the relays.The moth was fished out, and taped to the computer's log book.

Hopper then went to work on compiler development, having foreseen their potential for drastically reducing programming efforts while reducing "bugs."Retired from the Navy Reserve in 1966 as a Commander.

However, the Navy soon realized it needed Hopper's continue service, and brought her back.She was impatient with bureaucracy - and displayed it with a clock that ran backwards and a Jolly Roger flag on her desk.One might suspect that Hopper would be one wedded to the "big iron" computers of her day - however, she early on saw the potential and value of microcomputers, and for networking minis.

Commodore Hopper received her new rank (equivalent to today's Rear Admiral) in 1983 at a White House ceremony attended by President Reagan.Retirement took place 12/86 on the deck of the U.S.S. Constitution - the Navy's oldest commissioned ship.The very next day civilian Hopper, twice retired from the Navy, reported for full-time work at DEC.

Grace Hopper died in 1992 at the age of 80, having worked and given almost daily speeches cross-country until the prior Summer.Truly an inspirational achiever!

An admirable lady described byless admirable author
I had a chance to hear Grace Hopper speak in 1970's in the early days of my own computer career.She was impressive then, and, after reading this book,I'm even more impressed by her career and her accomplishments, which were underrepresented in the 'computing history' to which I had previously been exposed.Through interviews and delving into untold amount of original source material, Ms. Williams has found MANY fascinating tidbits about Grace and the environment in which she lived and worked. For example, Grace DIDN'T invent the term computer bug.However, the interesting facts are strung together in an oft times confusing narrative - it took me much longer to read than usual. And the index didn't mention her engaging physical representation of a nanosecond.A worthwhile book, nonetheless, for those interested in computing history, and/or women who made a difference in technology.

The Admiral was a lady.
I was at a coctail party at a computer show when this lady in a white Navy uniform came it. It was Grace Hopper. Someone asked her for an autograph. Admirals don't need to carry pens around, so I promptly offered her mine. And after she signed one of her business cards for him, I said that I'd like one also, so she signed another. I still have it.

This all came back to me as soon as I saw this book. I picked it up, I opened it to a page where it talks about her first reporting to Howard Aiken at Harvard to work on the Mark I computer. Aiken handed her a manual and told her to write a program. Almost exactly twenty years after she was given the manual, the Army did exactly the same to me - here's a manual, here's the equasion I want solved.

Even in her advanced years at the time I met her, she was still one very bright lady. This was in the very early days of the PC, and she had a basic understanding that enabled her to predict many of the things that were going to happen while the rest of were stumbling around thinking about word processing.

Grace Hopper was quite a lady, and that's reflected in this book. Between 1934 and 1937 hers was the only Ph.D. in mathematics awarded to a female. It was quite a life that she led, and that too is reflected in this book. Adm. Hopper lived in a time when women didn't need to be educated, they were just going to be housewives, and they certainly weren't going to be Navy Admirals. This book is a story of one remarkable woman, but more than that it's the story of computing and of our changing times. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A Piece of Art
This book is a pleasurable treasure.
Its theme, the cover art, layout and the body of poems blend into one of the most unique and entertaining reads a person could hope for.
The poetry in this collection is rich in life experience, imagery and language, written in an easy, conversational style. Reading this book is like sitting across from the author, sharing a cup of tea or coffee, discussing the myriad aspects of life.
F. William Broome has given us more than delightful and thought provoking slices of life in this book...he has given us intimate glimpses of himself, the man holding the pen, so to speak.
Windmills Beyond La Mancha is a piece of art that should be in every ones library. ... Read more

Book Description
F. William Broome’s writing is his life experiences. He offers new and assuring work seen through a crafted and polished lens. These fresh and timeless verses cover a brilliantly lived span of a man of gripping free verse. These reflect a keen mix of poignant events and romps into an imagined writer’s world. The author has given us crystal clearness in what he terms “plain speak.” It all began several years ago when he walked away from the world of commercial real estate. Upon leaving his native Atlanta, he found his place in the small mountain city of Dahlonega, Georgia. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Excellent study of military technology
Although the story of the role of technology in the defeat of german U-boats in the Battle of the Atalantic has often been told, the role of HF-DF (huff-duff) has usually been slighted. This book corrects thatsituation. Secret Weapon is an important new contribution in outunderstanding of the battle of the Atlantic, and an archetype ofcontemporary history of military technology.(From a longer review thatappeared in the New York Military Affairs Symposium Newsletter).

Interesting review of the fielding of ship mounted HFDF.
Reviews the source of technology and fielding of marine mobile HFDF used in ASW during WWII, parimarly in the Atlantic. Does not cover land based systems in the same depth which was dissappointing to this reader.Hintsat the technology but does not specify the actual techniques employed.Does, however does provide an analysis of the impact of ship born HFDFtowards countering German U Boat activity. Overall interesting reading !Dave Larrabee HFDF Center Compliance & Information Bureau - FCC ... Read more

Book Description
At the outbreak of World War II, four scientists left their comfortable college teaching positions to work for the government. Three served in uniform, the fourth oversaw contracts for the Navy. Such dramatic changes in life styles during the period were common--for men. But these established scientists were women, and each made significant contributions to a Navy embroiled in a modern, science-dependent war. Mary Sears, a Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution planktonologist, headed the Hydrographic Office's Oceanographic Unit. Grace Hopper, a Yale-trained mathematician, went to the Bureau of Ships Computation Laboratory at Harvard where she worked on one of the first computers, churning out essential data for ordnance and other projects. Florence van Straten, a New York University chemist, served as an aerological engineer analyzing the use of weather in combat. Mina Rees was the chief technical aide to the applied mathematics panel of the National Defense Research Committee. This book firmly places the women within the context of their times. Deeply rooted in previously unexamined primary sources, the work helps readers understand the personal and professional experiences of women in the military and the attitudes they faced, and fully appreciate the educational and occupational barriers faced by women scientists in the 1930s and 1940s.

The author focuses on their efforts during the war, but also discusses the women's skills and training, tells how they came to war work, and examines the contributions they made once there. She further considers how the war changed their lives, especially their professional lives, and how it affected their future careers. While other books have been written about women in the military, this is the first to focus on Navy women scientists. ... Read more