IBM's 360 and Early 370 Systems Book

IBM's 360 and Early 370 Systems by Emerson W. Pugh, Lyle R. Johnson, and John H. Palmer is a feat of immense scholarship. Unfortunately, they got the title wrong. It should be: A Strongly Internalist Corporate History of IBM During the System/360 Years, an approach perhaps not surprising since all three authors are former IBM employees. I came to the book with a background in computer hardware architecture and operating system design and, while there is not a frightening lack of technical details, the overall emphasis is on the project management and executive actions associated with bringing the most successful computer architecture of the 1960s, 70s, 80s, and even the 1990s to market. The 642 pages of reading also suffer from the multiple author syndrome of much repetition, particularly around the continuous reorganizations and personnel shuffles that senior IBM management used to address challenges.

The level of detail is awesome to behold and is supported by the 112 pages of footnotes where you will be hard-pressed to find any reference to a source outside of IBM corporate documents (both public & internal). There is almost nothing in the text about operating systems aside from noting schedule slippages and the importance of virtual address translation. The importance of SABRE is covered but there is no mention at all of ACP or, for that matter, JES2 & JES3. The text goes into way too much detail on peripherals such as the Selectric typewriter, card punches/readers, floppy disk drives, ad nauseam . Nevertheless, IBM's 360 and Early 370 Systems contains a wealth of information. There are lots of little hints about obscure technologies & projects that may stimulate further exploration. This book may be considered required reading for anyone interested in the rise of the computer industry in the United States, but for readers seeking an understanding of the evolution of computer technology in the 1960s, it's not terribly valuable.