"The book provides a breezy mathematical history tour through the development of number systems, slide rules, mechanical calculators and microchips. " -- Jeffrey M. Perkel - Nature "Houston's sprightly history aims to give the calculator the recognition it deserves as a stepping stone to the digital era... He makes a convincing case, in sum, for the significance of the calculator. " -- The Economist "Houston's narrative is full of oddballs, many of them brilliant..." -- Alexander Nazaryan - The New York Times Book Review "Starting from the seemingly simple task of recounting the history of the pocket calculator, Keith Houston unfolds a complex and fascinating history of numeracy, the evolution of technology, and the human desire to push our capabilities ever further. Deep," -- Cal Newport, The New York Times bestselling author of Digital Minimalism and A World Without Email "Everywhere and nowhere at once is how Keith Houston describes the pocket calculator, a machine that is so intimately intertwined with human history that it is impossible to imagine our lives deprived of its influence. In Empire of the Sum, Houston takes us on a journey that spans centuries and reaches across the universe, always coming back to humanitys craving for calculating machines in all their diverse forms. I dare you to reach the end of this book and not be irresistibly charmed by both the pocket calculator and Houstons witty, gregarious prose." -- Natalia Holt, The New York Times bestselling author of Rise of the Rocket Girls "[ An] enlightening history" -- Pablo Scheffer - The Times Literary Supplement
