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Book Reviewsnearly strangled when his tie got caught in the sequencemechanism.Hopper is credited with finding the first computerbug. Since the windows at Harvard University didn’thave screens on them, bugs flew in. When the Mark IIstopped running, Hopper found a large moth with a4-inch wing span beaten to death in one of the relays.The workers used Scotch tape to add the corpse to thelog book on September 9, 1945.Beyer covers many details about Hopper, includingthe following:• Was among the first modern programmers.• Developed a system of documentation within eachsegment of code.• Developed COBOL.• Braved a hurricane in fall 1944 to work in theHarvard Computation Laboratory.• Used the vanity mirror in her handbag as thepreferred tool to inspect the $750,000 Mark I.• Developed the first compiler.• Had a clock in her office that ran counterclockwiseto illustrate that there are many ways toconceptualize solutions to problems.• Helped establish the Association for ComputingMachinery.• Was named the first Computer Sciences “Manof the Year” in 1969 by the Data ProcessingManagement Association.• Retired in 1986 as the oldest active officer in theNavy.Hopper died in her sleep on January 1, 1992, atage 86 and was buried in Arlington Cemetery withfull honors. Her advice for maintaining a youthful andcreative outlook by constantly broadening one’s ownknowledge base is good advice for anyone.Beyer not only writes about Hopper’s life but stringstogether the history of computers and details of thelives of others who were involved with the informationage into a well-researched book. His vivid writing styleand the numerous photos from the archives make pastevents come alive in the reader’s mind.For those who are interested in the early history ofcomputers and Hopper’s involvement in computing,the Archives Center of the Smithsonian Institution’sNational Museum of American History in Washington,DC, contains many items from the early days ofcomputing, including photos, academic articles, technicalnotes, manuals, and press clippings.Rhonda LunemannRhonda Lunemann is a senior technical writer with SiemensPLM Software and a senior member of STC’s Twin CitiesChapter.Conversation and Community: The SocialWeb for DocumentationAnne Gentle. 2009. Fort Collins, CO: XML Press. [ISBN 978-0-9822191-1-9.236 pages, including index. US$29.95 (softcover).]Anne Gentle’s Conversation andCommunity: The Social Web forDocumentation is a wake-up callfor technical communicatorswho are still not ready toembrace the social Web thattakes them beyond theircomfort zone of in-houseproduceduser guides andonline help to the realm ofblogs, wikis, and forums.Accustomed to a more formalwriting environment that allows for rigorous editingand complete content control, writers often shun thelax user-generated content populating the Internet.This, according to Gentle, is a big mistake. Instead,professional writers need to view this communicationshift as an opportunity to embrace a new collaborationwith their online audience. The results will be betterserved, happier users and continued relevance of theprofessional technical communicator.Gentle’s knowledge of this growing social Webis vast, and she excitedly shares what she knows. Shesuggests that blogs and wikis encourage a productivedialogue between writer and users. “Writers have moreconversation-starting tools at their disposal than atany other time in history,” she explains (p. 14). To helpnovices understand these social media tools, Gentlededicates an entire chapter to describing them. Sheexplains in some detail the terminology common inthe social Web, terms such as tagging, syndicated content,and community. In addition, she lists online communitiesVolume 57, Number 3, August 2010 l Technical Communication 349