Scan barcode
velocipedia's review against another edition
funny
informative
slow-paced
No strong opinions on this one, but pleased with myself for suppressing the DNF impulse after seeing *another* chunk of endnotes. Padua's voice is readable and quite funny, and her illustrations are engaging and emotive. The format of the book is maybe a little disjointed, but you can tell that it's a passion project, and who am I to begrudge a dork her obsession?
kahht's review against another edition
5.0
Sydney Padua brings the semi-fictional invention of the first computer to life in wonderful illustrations and witty footnotery. Her graphic style is gorgeous, but even more so, the research she has put into this tiny graphic novel is incredible. Padua provides primary sources throughout the book, presented in such an endearing and loving way as to not feel academic in the slightest.
This book isn't non-fiction, but it isn't entirely fiction either. Most of the book is spent in a pocket universe of well-informed imagination of what could of have been had Lovelace lived longer and Babbage carried through with his plans to build a physical Analytical Engine. The result is amazing and beautiful. The idea allows Padua to walk through aspects of the two protagonists' personalities and histories without feeling stuffy.
She accomplishes much of the wit meets fact through lengthy footnotes, and wow! I don't even know how to describe what she does in this respect, but she nails it.
Padua's passion for the topic is evident in every word and pen stroke on every page. Even if I weren't such a fan of the two geniuses before, I certainly would want to learn more after reading these Thrilling Adventures. This is a book that should truly make people love engineering, computer science and history. I can't recommend it enough (it's truly a shame that no bookstores in my city carried it and that I had to order it online... hopefully this changes in fast order).
This book isn't non-fiction, but it isn't entirely fiction either. Most of the book is spent in a pocket universe of well-informed imagination of what could of have been had Lovelace lived longer and Babbage carried through with his plans to build a physical Analytical Engine. The result is amazing and beautiful. The idea allows Padua to walk through aspects of the two protagonists' personalities and histories without feeling stuffy.
She accomplishes much of the wit meets fact through lengthy footnotes, and wow! I don't even know how to describe what she does in this respect, but she nails it.
Padua's passion for the topic is evident in every word and pen stroke on every page. Even if I weren't such a fan of the two geniuses before, I certainly would want to learn more after reading these Thrilling Adventures. This is a book that should truly make people love engineering, computer science and history. I can't recommend it enough (it's truly a shame that no bookstores in my city carried it and that I had to order it online... hopefully this changes in fast order).
katsdc's review against another edition
5.0
I read this book for my book club and loved it! Sydney Padua's research was exhaustive and I loved how she used it to fill in the dialogue for the fictional part of the story. Ada Lovelace was a really fascinating woman that I knew nothing about prior to reading this book. She is an inspiration to women in the technical industry and this book really brings her to life.
The one thing I will say is that I chose to order the hardback version of the book based on Amazon reviews that the Kindle version made it difficult to read the footnotes. The footnotes provide a lot of neat commentary and historical research from the author that really added a lot to the beautiful comic she drew. So I'd recommend that you buy the hardcover version if you'd like to read it!
The one thing I will say is that I chose to order the hardback version of the book based on Amazon reviews that the Kindle version made it difficult to read the footnotes. The footnotes provide a lot of neat commentary and historical research from the author that really added a lot to the beautiful comic she drew. So I'd recommend that you buy the hardcover version if you'd like to read it!
colinlusk's review against another edition
5.0
This book is EVERYTHING a book should be. It has the true story of real and important historical figures and a major (and much more fun) diversion into the imaginary world that would have arisen if they had pushed their ideas through to completion. But more than that, it has whimsy, it has beautiful drawings, it has heft, it has booksmell, it has footnotes by the mile, and it has jokes aplenty. You really couldn't ask for a better package for any computer nerd.
brokensandals's review against another edition
4.0
This is less an adventure comic than a celebration of these two people and their milieu. Most of the book is the footnotes, but if you take the time to read them, you’ll be rewarded with numerous fascinating details and anecdotes that Padua dug up in her clearly extensive study of the era. She loves these people, and her enthusiasm is contagious.
Also, the appendix that delves into the design of Babbage’s (real) analytical engine is wonderful.
skfritz's review against another edition
3.0
This book has a super awesome concept, which is that Babbage and Lovelace, two of the pioneers for our modern computing movement, go on crazy adventures together using their crazy complicated huge analytical machine. The artwork is adorably fun, there's cameos by all sorts of famous Victorian sorts (Queen Victoria herself, Charles Dickens, Mary Evans (aka George Eliot), the Duke of Wellington, etc.), and it's really informative.
Kind of too informative?
There are a lot of footnotes and endnotes in this book. A LOT. It's not often when you can simply read the story for more than a page and a half without having to stop to read the annotation at the bottom, which often clarifies what the author means, or explains where she got the information she's using in the text. The last section of the book is appendices explaining the math and science behind Lovelace and Babbage's work, with no actual storyline. I think this book would be a lot for appealing and accessible for someone who is interested in math and science or has a general background in it, but I am not that person.
So, for all that the concept was great and the art eye-catching, this book just didn't quite hold my attention in the way I hoped it might. However, I have to say, the 'Clippy' footman and the delightful Mary Evans/George Eliot made me so glad I read this anyway.
Kind of too informative?
There are a lot of footnotes and endnotes in this book. A LOT. It's not often when you can simply read the story for more than a page and a half without having to stop to read the annotation at the bottom, which often clarifies what the author means, or explains where she got the information she's using in the text. The last section of the book is appendices explaining the math and science behind Lovelace and Babbage's work, with no actual storyline. I think this book would be a lot for appealing and accessible for someone who is interested in math and science or has a general background in it, but I am not that person.
So, for all that the concept was great and the art eye-catching, this book just didn't quite hold my attention in the way I hoped it might. However, I have to say, the 'Clippy' footman and the delightful Mary Evans/George Eliot made me so glad I read this anyway.
jhereg_vlad's review against another edition
5.0
Awesome! By far the best graphic novel I've ever read (from a fairly select set) and the best biography of Ada and Charles (again, from a not-too-extensive set)