Innovations in isolation: MacPaw presents a book about the history of Ukrainian IT

The popular science book "Innovation in Isolation: The Story of Ukrainian IT from 1940s to Present" tells the story of the development of technology in Ukraine: from the first computer to the products of modern IT companies known all over the world.

Ukrainian IT company MacPaw published the English-language book "Innovation in Isolation: The Story of Ukrainian IT from 1940s to Present". The book was published in cooperation with an independent Ukrainian publishing house ist publishing. The goal of the project is to tell what significance the development of cybernetics in Ukraine had for the world and how the achievements of the past influenced the country's modern technological potential.

The Ukrainian IT company MacPaw released the English-language book "Innovation in Isolation: The Story of Ukrainian IT from 1940s to Present". Photo: MacPaw

The book "Innovations in isolation: the history of Ukrainian IT from the 1940s to today" is an attempt to restore justice and tell the story of scientists who worked in Ukraine during the Soviet era and sought to make life in the USSR better, despite numerous material, technical, ideological and political barriers. The book is about a dynamic chapter in the history of Ukraine, which was the heart of cybernetics in the USSR and which can rightly be called the center of computer innovation among the former Soviet republics.

"We started this project to explore our past and understand how Ukraine became a powerful technological hub. History has helped us not only to find answers, but also to form a vision of a future where technology improves people's lives. For MacPaw, this book is a social and cultural project that strengthens the international reputation of Ukraine as a promising technological country with unique specialists and unlimited potential. I am proud of the result of our team and hope that readers will discover unknown pages of the history of technology and be inspired by the pioneers who worked, created, invented despite the challenges of time and numerous obstacles." — tells Oleksandr Kosovan, founder and CEO of MacPaw.

The Ukrainian IT company MacPaw released the English-language book "Innovation in Isolation: The Story of Ukrainian IT from 1940s to Present". Photo: MacPaw

The first part of the book is devoted 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 of the creation of the first computers in Ukraine, about outstanding engineers and scientists who started the computer era behind the Iron Curtain, and the conditions in which they had to work. The history of technology reproduced in the book is based on dozens of interviews with those who personally knew the key innovators of that time: colleagues, relatives and students of cybernetics pioneers Viktor Glushkov and Serhiy Lebedev.

The second part contains stories about eight Ukrainian food companies, based on interviews with their leaders: Ajax Systems, MacPaw, Grammarly, Petcube, Readdle, Jooble, Reface and Depositphotos.

The Ukrainian IT company MacPaw released the English-language book "Innovation in Isolation: The Story of Ukrainian IT from 1940s to Present". Photo: MacPaw

To work on the project, the MacPaw company gathered a professional Command authors, publishers, designers, historians and industry researchers. Work on the project began even before the full-scale invasion of Russia. From the beginning, the book was conceived as a popular science publication with a significant emphasis on design and visual content.

She became the art director of the publication Alyona Solomadina, an independent graphic designer and researcher whose expertise spans book design, visual identities and design curation. Alyona plays an important role in the research group "U,N,A collective" and is the co-author of the book "Sign. Ukrainian trademarks of the 1960s-1980s".

"Our publishing house pays special attention to interdisciplinary texts where culture is intertwined with education, science, ecology. Writing such texts is already an art, - comments Kateryna Nosko, publisher and co-founder of ist publishing. — The book "Innovation in Isolation" is in the field of such publications and therefore it is not by chance that it already arouses the interest of an international audience. We can see this from the reaction of the public at the recent book festivals in Vienna and London. It is important that this book is in English and with an expressive design. We believe that this is the most accessible way to tell the world about Ukraine, the agency of Ukrainians and the birth of progressive ideas since the 1940s, which became an unprecedented contribution in the field of technology."

The book "Innovation in Isolation. The story of Ukrainian IT from the 1940s to the Present" is a charity project of the MacPaw company. All profits from the sale of the book will be directed to MacPaw Foundation, a corporate charitable foundation that, since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, has been helping to preserve the lives of Ukrainian defenders and providing assistance to Ukrainians who have suffered the consequences of Russian aggression.

Currently, the book can be ordered only in Ukraine. You can learn more about the project and buy the book on the website: innovation-in-isolation.com.

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