Dreaming in Code

February 1, 2019
A biography of Ada Lovelace, widely celebrated as the first computer programmer.McCully juxtaposes the analytical genius of her subject with her humanizing flaws and personality, painting a portrait of a turbulent soul and a visionary intellect whose promise was cut short by early death. After the acrimonious end of Lord and Lady Byron's relationship, the intelligent Lady Byron sought to distance Ada from both her father himself and his unstable tendencies by giving her a challenging education focused on rational pursuits, math, and science. Lady Byron's portrayal is complex--she's cold and self-centered but determined to provide academic opportunities for her daughter. The book follows Ada's education with her marriage and death from uterine cancer, but both the book and Ada focus on her collaborator, Charles Babbage. A temporary textual shift to focus on Babbage provides necessary context, establishing how advanced and revolutionary Babbage's Difference Engine and Analytical Engine designs were. And yet, Ada was able to see far beyond his visions, conceptualizing the potential of modern computers and predicting such programming techniques like loops. McCully demonstrates that although Ada had the potential to achieve more, she was hampered by sexism, ill health, and a temperament akin to her father's. Appendices summarize Lovelace's notes on the Analytical Engine and present the British Association for the Advancement of Science's rationale for refusing to support its construction.A sophisticated yet accessible piece that humanizes a tragic, brilliant dreamer. (source notes, glossary, bibliography, index [not seen]) (Biography. 10-14)

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Starred review from March 1, 2019

Gr 5-8-Ada Lovelace (1815-1852), daughter of poet Lord Bryon, was raised in privilege by her mother, married into an aristocratic, titled family, and received an outstanding education for a woman in the 19th-century. Always inquisitive and showing qualities of genius, Ada had the best tutors in mathematics and science. She met many important men of science, including inventor Charles Babbage. They worked together and produced concepts that presage computer programming. These concepts, as well as Babbage's design of an analytical engine, were forerunners of today's computers. Ada's restless spirit, addiction to gambling, use of narcotics, and poor health plagued her in the last years of her life. She was never able to overcome the prejudice against women in science. For example, she wasn't allowed to enter the building of the Royal Society nor borrow books from its library. This book is divided into five parts that chronicle Ada's life. In addition to the strong supporting back matter, the use of citations is an outstanding feature of this volume. VERDICT An exceptional biography and an important addition for all STEM collections.-Patricia Ann Owens, formerly at Illinois Eastern Community College, Mt. Carmel

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 25, 2019
McCully (She Did It!) dramatically details the life of Augusta Ada Lovelace (1815–1852), the person first credited with understanding a computer’s potential beyond mathematical calculation. Lovelace’s father was the poet Lord Byron, and her childhood was framed by her principled, domineering mother’s determination to eradicate all traces of his paternity. Privately tutored in mathematics to ward off any poetical instincts, Lovelace thrived intellectually even as she endured physical ill-health and her mother’s emotional coldness. Her introduction at age 17 to her future mentor and collaborator Charles Babbage, inventor of the earliest computer prototypes, changed her life, offering intellectual food and challenge. McCully proceeds with clear explanations of Lovelace’s intellectual activities—in particular, Note G, in which Lovelace proposes an algorithm considered to be the first for a computer—while blending a largely sympathetic view of her personal life: marriage, offspring, gambling and other addictions, and early death from uterine cancer. Archival photos and illustrations, appendices, source notes, a glossary, and a bibliography deepen the portrait of this singular figure whose impact on science and technology has long been understated. Ages 10–14.

March 1, 2019
Grades 7-10 Interest in Ada Byron Lovelace and other female pioneers of science has soared of late. This young adult biography is a particularly exemplary example of the burgeoning genre and should find a home in all libraries. Caldecott medalist McCully is careful to show Lovelace as a complex, and sometimes troubled, child, teen, and woman whose love of math was as passionate as love of poetry was to her famous father, the Romantic poet Lord Byron. While Lovelace's mother, a controlling figure who reviled Lord Byron, was rather distant, she did cultivate her daughter's intellect. She also introduced Lovelace to Charles Babbage, a well-known figure in England who was developing a protocomputer called the Analytical Engine. It was Lovelace who foresaw its implications and who ultimately wrote code for its use. While her life was tragically short, she is now generally acknowledged as the first computer programmer. McCully's work is eminently readable, with short chapters and lavish illustrations. It also includes meaty appendixes and source notes for teen scholars. A worthy addition to biography bookshelves.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)

May 1, 2019
Born during the Industrial Revolution, Ada Byron Lovelace endured a childhood apart from her estranged poet father, Lord Byron, and controlled by a mother who possessed scant ability to nurture her daughter. Consequently, Lovelace's childhood was one of neglect and cruelty, albeit one marked by strong educational opportunities. Lovelace followed the conventions of the times by marrying and bearing children, two roles she was ill-equipped to handle. Still, because her husband adored her, she was able to pursue her scientific interests and maintain a friendship with Charles Babbage, who began production on a mechanical tabulation machine. When asked to translate an article stating what this (unfinished) invention could do, Lovelace imagined its possibilities beyond numeric computation. In so doing, she defined the machine as a computer prototype, and her resulting algorithm is often considered the first computer program. McCully clearly and systematically outlines the mathematical concepts behind Babbage's machine and the steps Lovelace took to reach her conclusions, as well as her famous statement of limitations: a machine can only do what it is told to do. McCully paints Lovelace's life as one revealing spurts of brilliance but also defined by a domineering mother; strange maladies; indifference toward her children and husband; a fascination with gambling (and resultant financial ruin); and a possible addiction to laudanum. Readers see a complex woman trapped by history, deserving both sympathy and admiration. Archival illustrations and photographs appear throughout; a wealth of back matter includes an epilogue, source notes, a bibliography, an index, and a mathematical glossary. betty carter

(Copyright 2019 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

July 1, 2019
Ada Byron Lovelace followed nineteenth-century conventions by marrying and bearing children yet still pursued scientific interests. Her friend Charles Babbage produced a mechanical tabulation machine, which Lovelace defined as a computer prototype; her resulting algorithm is often considered the first computer program. McCully clearly and systematically outlines mathematical concepts while painting Lovelace's life as one characterized both by spurts of brilliance and many challenges. Archival illustrations and photographs appear throughout. Bib., glos., ind.

(Copyright 2019 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)