Rating: 
Summary: Henceforth, computers shall tremble before me!
Review: In this book, Hillis has managed to cover all of the basics of how computers operate, from theory like Boolean algebra and finite state machines, up to applications of the theory like multiprocessors and their limits. He even manages to find space to discuss Turing's Halting Problem, and Godel's Incompleteness Theorem. To fit so much information into such a small book, Hillis has minimised his explanations, to the point that I think a true newcomer to these concepts would have difficulty in following a lot of the details. The text has been designed so that not understanding parts of it will not greatly affect the understanding of the rest, however I believe the reader would have much less appreciation for how all of the ideas mesh together in this case. Hillis has crafted a beautiful book, one that provides excellent insight into the workings of computer technology, and a slightly different approach to that taken by standard textbooks. While I don't think this book would serve as a substitute to a standard text, it makes an excellent companion book for anyone who is already partly familiar with the concepts covered.
Rating:
Summary: Stones, pipes and learnig
Review: The Brazilian portuguese edition is pretty well. The book is very interesting. A book can be called very interesting when you start reading it and only stops when you follow into sleep. Daniel Hillis shows in a very clever and simple way how computer are projected. It's really amazing to know that a computer can be made of pipes. It's a little bit scary but also intriguing to know experts believe on next 40 years computers will exceed us in processing capability. If you do not know anything about computer science that's the book you should read at first. From high school students to lawyers like me it will worth. My only complain is that after a few hours I already finished up my reading. Go and read how simple and complex computers are.
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