Innovation in Isolation. The Story of Ukrainian IT from the 1940's to Present

"The Story of Ukrainian IT from the 1940's to Present" is a popular science book that tells the story of the development of cybernetics in Soviet Ukraine from the 1940s to 1991 and introduces readers to modern Ukrainian tech companies. Here, you will find dozens of archival photographs from the earliest days of computer development, as well as exclusive interviews with Ukrainian technology pioneers. The first part of the book is dedicated to the history of cybernetics in Ukraine from the 1940s to 1991 and is illustrated with dozens of rare archival photographs. Readers will learn about the behind-the-scenes creation of the first computers in Ukraine, the outstanding engineers and scientists who launched the computer age behind the Iron Curtain, and the conditions under which they had to work. The history of technology reconstructed in the book is based on dozens of interviews with people who personally knew the key innovators of that era. Among them are colleagues, relatives, and students of cybernetics pioneers Viktor Glushkov and Sergey Lebedev. The second part contains stories about eight Ukrainian product companies, based on interviews with their leaders: Ajax Systems, MacPaw, Grammarly, Petcube, Readdle, Jooble, Reface, and Depositphotos. The book is written in English to demonstrate to an international audience the significant contribution of Ukrainian engineers and scientists to the global development of technology, despite being forced to create inside the box of the Soviet system.