Ada's Algorithm

By James Essinger,

Book cover of Ada's Algorithm: How Lord Byron's Daughter Ada Lovelace Launched the Digital Age

Book description

“[Ada Lovelace], like Steve Jobs, stands at the intersection of arts and technology."—Walter Isaacson, author of The Innovators

Over 150 years after her death, a widely-used scientific computer program was named “Ada,” after Ada Lovelace, the only legitimate daughter of the eighteenth century’s version of a rock star, Lord Byron.…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked Ada's Algorithm as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

I’m a geek; I’m ok with that, and I fully embrace that reality. I love books that tell the stories of the early pioneers who brought about computing as we know it. And few figures are as important and underappreciated as Lady Ava Lovelace.

She literally created what we now call “computer programming languages” before there were modern computers and electricity was widely available! Oh, and she did this before she died at age 33. This is a feel-good, inspiring tale of a woman well ahead of her time.

If you love Ada's Algorithm...

Ad

Book cover of Tap Dancing on Everest: A Young Doctor's Unlikely Adventure

Tap Dancing on Everest By Mimi Zieman,

Tap Dancing on Everest, part coming-of-age memoir, part true-survival adventure story, is about a young medical student, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor raised in N.Y.C., who battles self-doubt to serve as the doctor—and only woman—on a remote Everest climb in Tibet.

The team attempts a new route up…

Want books like Ada's Algorithm?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 39 books like Ada's Algorithm.

Browse books like Ada's Algorithm

Book cover of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Book cover of The Thursday Murder Club
Book cover of What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,586

readers submitted
so far, will you?

Ad

📚 If you like Ada's Algorithm, you might also like...

Book cover of Benghazi! A New History of the Fiasco that Pushed America and its World to the Brink

Benghazi! A New History of the Fiasco that Pushed America and its World to the Brink By Ethan Chorin,

Benghazi: A New History is a look back at the enigmatic 2012 attack on the US mission in Benghazi, Libya, its long-tail causes, and devastating (and largely unexamined) consequences for US domestic politics and foreign policy. It contains information not found elsewhere, and is backed up by 40 pages of…

Book cover of The Truth About Unringing Phones

The Truth About Unringing Phones By Lara Lillibridge,

When Lara was four years old, her father moved from Rochester, New York, to Anchorage, Alaska, a distance of over 4,000 miles. She spent her childhood chasing after him, flying a quarter of the way around the world to tug at the hem of his jacket.

Now that he is…

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in Ada Lovelace, Lord Byron, and Alan Turing?

Ada Lovelace 10 books
Lord Byron 18 books
Alan Turing 13 books