The Cryotron Files: The Untold Story of Dudley Buck, Cold War Computer Scientist and Microchip Pioneer
Iain Dey · Douglas Buck
Oct 2018 · Abrams
Ebook
317
Pages
About this ebook
The "fascinating [and] informative" biography of a pioneering American computer scientist and his mysterious death during the Cold War ( The Scotsman, UK).
MIT professor Dudley Allen Buck was a brilliant young scientist on the cusp of fame and fortune when he died of mysterious causes in 1959. His latest invention, the Cryotron, was an early form of microchip that would have greatly advance ballistic missile technology. Shortly before Dudley's death, he was visited by a group of Soviet computer experts. On the day that he died from a sudden bout of pneumonia, a close colleague of his was also found dead from similar causes. Some wonder if their deaths were linked.
Dudley's son Douglas was never satisfied with the explanation of his father's death. He's spent more than twenty years investigating it, acquiring his father's lab books, diaries, correspondence, research papers and patent filings. Armed with this research, Douglas and award-winning journalist Iain Dey tell the story of Dudley's life and groundbreaking work.
The Cryotron Files is at once a gripping history of America's Cold War era computer scientists, the dramatic personal story of Dudley Buck, and an eye-opening investigation into his mysterious death.
MIT professor Dudley Allen Buck was a brilliant young scientist on the cusp of fame and fortune when he died of mysterious causes in 1959. His latest invention, the Cryotron, was an early form of microchip that would have greatly advance ballistic missile technology. Shortly before Dudley's death, he was visited by a group of Soviet computer experts. On the day that he died from a sudden bout of pneumonia, a close colleague of his was also found dead from similar causes. Some wonder if their deaths were linked.
Dudley's son Douglas was never satisfied with the explanation of his father's death. He's spent more than twenty years investigating it, acquiring his father's lab books, diaries, correspondence, research papers and patent filings. Armed with this research, Douglas and award-winning journalist Iain Dey tell the story of Dudley's life and groundbreaking work.
The Cryotron Files is at once a gripping history of America's Cold War era computer scientists, the dramatic personal story of Dudley Buck, and an eye-opening investigation into his mysterious death.
The "fascinating [and] informative" biography of a pioneering American computer scientist and his mysterious death during the Cold War ( The Scotsman, UK).
MIT professor Dudley Allen Buck was a brilliant young scientist on the cusp of fame and fortune when he died of mysterious causes in 1959. H...
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About the author
Iain Dey is the Business Editor for The Sunday Times and was previously the paper's New York correspondent and deputy business editor. He was named Business Journalist of the Year in 2010 for his coverage of the financial crisis. The Cryotron Files is his first book.
Iain Dey is the Business Editor for The Sunday Times and was previously the paper's New York correspondent and deputy business editor. He was named Business Journalist of the Year in 2010 for his coverage of the financial crisis. The Cryotron Files is his first book.
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