{"product_id":"grace-hopper-admiral-of-the-cyber-sea-9781591149781","title":"Grace Hopper: Admiral of the Cyber Sea","description":"\u003ch2\u003eGrace Hopper: Admiral of the Cyber Sea\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis comprehensive biography chronicles the remarkable naval career of Rear Admiral Grace Hopper, who retired from the U.S. Navy in 1986 as the first woman restricted line officer to reach flag rank and, at seventy-nine, the oldest serving officer in the Navy. Written by historian Kathleen Broome Williams, this book provides the first full-length examination of the mathematician-turned-computer scientist who helped propel the Navy into the computer age.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eEarly Computing Pioneer\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eGrace Hopper's naval career began when she joined the WAVES in 1943 and was assigned to work on the Mark I computer at Harvard, becoming one of America's first computer programmers. This early introduction to computing through the Navy launched her distinguished civilian career in commercial computing after World War II, where she gained recognition for her instrumental role in creating COBOL, one of the most widely used programming languages in history.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eReturn to Active Duty\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThough past retirement age, Hopper was recalled to active duty at the Pentagon in 1967 to standardize computer-programming languages for Navy computers. What began as a temporary appointment lasted nineteen years, during which she standardized COBOL for the entire Department of Defense. Her work established critical foundations for military computing systems that remain relevant today.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eBased on Extensive Research\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWilliams draws from extensive interviews with Hopper's colleagues and family, along with previously unexamined archival material, to illuminate the admiral's pioneering accomplishments in a field that became dominated by men. The biography provides a detailed overview of computing from its beginnings in World War II through the late 1980s, contextualizing Hopper's contributions within the broader evolution of technology.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eKathleen Broome Williams holds a Ph.D. from City University of New York and is a professor of history at Cogswell Polytechnical College in Sunnyvale, California. Her expertise in naval history and women in science makes her uniquely qualified to tell Hopper's story. This biography won a North American Society for Oceanic History award. Williams is also the author of \u003ci\u003eSecret Weapon: U.S. High-Frequency Direction Finding in the Battle of the Atlantic\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eImprobable Warriors: Women Scientists and the U.S. Navy in World War II\u003c\/i\u003e, which won a History of Science Society book award.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis paperback edition from US Naval Institute Press offers readers an authoritative account of Amazing Grace's life, examining both her technical innovations and her role as a superb publicist for the Navy through frequent media appearances.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"US Naval Institute Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50681262080274,"sku":"9781591149781","price":20.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_5739ab72-cadf-4fad-9d07-970a76fda183.jpg?v=1733950957","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/grace-hopper-admiral-of-the-cyber-sea-9781591149781","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}