This list of books are ONLY the books that have been ranked on the lists that are aggregated on this site. This is not a comprehensive list of all books by this author.

1. 1. Our Robots, Ourselves

   Robotics and the Myths of Autonomy

   

   Challenges the myth of fully autonomous robots by showing that effective systems are human–machine partnerships in which people set goals, manage risk, and interpret outcomes. Drawing on case studies from aviation, space exploration, undersea operations, and military drones, it maps a spectrum of autonomy and explains how design choices in control, feedback, and context shape performance. It offers practical guidance for building technologies that keep humans meaningfully in the loop while addressing safety, ethics, and responsibility.

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2. 2. Between Human And Machine

   Feedback, Control, and Computing before Cybernetics

   

   A concise history of how feedback, control, and automation shaped early computing before the rise of cybernetics, tracing developments from 19th‑century industry to World War II fire-control and servomechanisms. It highlights the “man-in-the-loop” as engineers and operators fused human judgment with machine precision, showing how these sociotechnical practices seeded later computing, information theory, and systems thinking within military, industrial, and cultural contexts.

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3. 3. Digital Apollo

   Human and Machine in Spaceflight

   

   A concise history and analysis of the Apollo guidance computer and the human–machine partnership that made lunar missions possible, showing how astronauts, ground controllers, and rudimentary onboard software formed tightly coupled, distributed cognitive systems; it examines the technical decisions, real-time problem solving during crises, and cultural trade-offs that produced reliable flight operations and draws lessons for designing modern automated systems.

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