Book of the Week: “Proving ground: the untold story of the six women who programmed the world’s first modern computer” by Kathy Kleiman

After the end of World War II, the race for technological supremacy sped on. Top-secret research into ballistics and computing, begun during the war to aid those on the front lines, continued across the United States as engineers and programmers rushed to complete their confidential assignments. Among them were six pioneering women, tasked with figuring out how to program the world’s first general-purpose, all-electronic computer – better known as the ENIAC. While most students of computer history are aware of this innovative machine, the great contributions of the women who programmed it were never told – until now. Proving Ground restores these women to their rightful place as technological revolutionaries.