GPS, Paul E. Ceruzzi
GPS, Paul E. Ceruzzi
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GPS

Author: Paul E. Ceruzzi

Narrator: Stephen Bel Davies

Unabridged: 4 hr 18 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Ascent Audio

Published: 03/12/2019


Synopsis

A concise history of GPS, from its military origins to its commercial applications and ubiquity in everyday life.

GPS is ubiquitous in everyday life. GPS mapping is standard equipment in many new cars and geolocation services are embedded in smart phones. GPS makes Uber and Lyft possible; driverless cars won't be able to drive without it. In this volume in the MIT Press Essential Knowledge series, Paul Ceruzzi offers a concise history of GPS, explaining how a once-obscure space technology became an invisible piece of our infrastructure, as essential to modern life as electric power or clean water.

GPS relays precise time and positioning information from orbiting satellites to receivers on the ground, at sea, and in the air. It operates worldwide, and its basic signals are free, although private companies can commodify the data provided. Ceruzzi recounts the origins of GPS and its predecessor technologies, including early aircraft navigation systems and satellites. He describes the invention of GPS as a space technology in the post-Apollo, pre-Space Shuttle years and its first military and commercial uses. Ceruzzi explains how the convergence of three major technological developments—the microprocessor, the Internet, and cellular telephony—enabled the development and application of GPS technology.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Iver on June 07, 2020

Good History of GPS and Related Technologies I started this book looking to learn more about GPS worked, particularly with smartphones. I got more history and less technology than I was looking for, but the book was still well worth reading. It clearly explains GPS development in the context of the d......more

Goodreads review by David on December 24, 2022

More than a book about the GPS system, this book gives a history of navigation systems. The book deals with the Korean airliner shut down by Russia, and discusses initial navigation versus land based systems. Covered is the history of all the players involved in bringing the first GPS system into ex......more

Goodreads review by Daniel on May 26, 2019

I had never given much thought about GPS before reading this book. All I knew about GPS was that it gave you your location. I was surprised to learn that other countries also have there own GPS systems. I thought the U.S gps was the only game in town. It was exciting to learn about the systems that......more

Goodreads review by Peter on December 03, 2022

A somewhat dry history of GPS and the navigation systems that came before it. It does describe roughly how GPS works, but without any details. The author is an historian of science and computing, and writes as a historian -- ie, there are footnotes, but they are to (mostly secondary) sources, and no......more

Goodreads review by Alexander on November 20, 2021

Readable and informative overview but frequently irritatingly fuzzy and inconsistent about critical details, both technical (which may be excusable) and historical (e.g. sometimes it seems like name dropping and sometimes it's just some anonymous researcher or committee).......more