Historical content in computer science texts: a concern

Faculty teaching computer science courses-to majors and nonmajors alike-may have little chance to evaluate the historical material found in the texts assigned to their students. There are problems, however, in the presentations of the history of the field in many current texts, problems of which faculty are not always aware. Clarification of some of the problematic historical material found in current texts is presented, and some suggestions are offered for additional topics that should be included in the history component of the computer science curriculum. The examples are gleaned from several texts that have been otherwise valuable and effective in the presentation of computer science material; indeed, their continued presence and wide usage attest to the quality of their presentation. But the history of the field deserves the same careful treatment in these texts as do other aspects of computer science.