Keith Houston is the author of Shady Characters and The Book. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, Mental Floss, BBC Culture, and on Time.com. He lives in Birmingham, England.
"The book provides a breezy mathematical history tour through the
development of number systems, slide rules, mechanical calculators
and microchips. "
*Jeffrey M. Perkel - Nature*
"Houston's sprightly history aims to give the calculator the
recognition it deserves as a stepping stone to the digital era...
He makes a convincing case, in sum, for the significance of the
calculator. "
*The Economist*
"Houston's narrative is full of oddballs, many of them
brilliant..."
*Alexander Nazaryan - The New York Times Book Review*
"Starting from the seemingly simple task of recounting the history
of the pocket calculator, Keith Houston unfolds a complex and
fascinating history of numeracy, the evolution of technology, and
the human desire to push our capabilities ever further. Deep,"
*Cal Newport, The New York Times bestselling author of Digital
Minimalism and A World Without Email*
"Everywhere and nowhere at once’ is how Keith Houston describes the
pocket calculator, a machine that is so intimately intertwined with
human history that it is impossible to imagine our lives deprived
of its influence. In Empire of the Sum, Houston takes us on a
journey that spans centuries and reaches across the universe,
always coming back to humanity’s craving for calculating machines
in all their diverse forms. I dare you to reach the end of this
book and not be irresistibly charmed by both the pocket calculator
and Houston’s witty, gregarious prose."
*Natalia Holt, The New York Times bestselling author of Rise of the
Rocket Girls*
"[An] enlightening history"
*Pablo Scheffer - The Times Literary Supplement*
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