Science author Waldrop to visit

M. Mitchell Waldrop, a UW–Madison graduate and a prolific, award-winning science writer and author, will deliver a free public lecture and hold a book signing Thursday, Sept. 26, for his new book, “The Dream Machine.”

The book recounts the story of, J.C.R. Licklider, the unsung visionary who developed the concept of personal computing and “set in motion the revolution that would change our lives.”

Waldrop, who received a doctorate in physics and a master’s in journalism from UW–Madison, is a former senior writer at Science magazine and the author of two previous books, “Complexity” and “Man-Made Minds.”

“The Dream Machine” tells of the rise of modern computing from World War II through the personal computer boom of the 1980s to the success of the Internet in the 1990s. The book is an account of the work and vision of Licklider, and reveals the politics and personalities that shaped a technology we all have come to depend on.

The lecture and book signing, sponsored jointly by University Book Store and UW–Madison, will be held at 7:30 p.m. in Grainger Hall’s Morgridge Auditorium.