The celebration of the centenary of John Atanasoff in the USA and in our country will be an important step in his winning recognition as the forerunner of information society. During the days of the celebration we will remember his two visits to Bulgaria. In this connection, part of my correspondence with John Atanasoff, included in this book, is of considerable interest, starting with the letter to the President of Iowa State University requesting his address. This correspondence is valuable not only as a document for the way in which John Atanasoff established a relationship with the homeland of his father, but also as a source of information about his interests, his character and attitude to many human problems.
In writing this book I have tried to express things in such a way as not to drive away any person who is willing to read it. But the subject and the texts of John Atanasoff inevitably make use of some mathematical concepts and symbols. I realize that many people are allergic to them and coming across something like this, they put an end to their reading. I can assure such readers that they can easily skip the texts, which contain unintelligible mathematical symbols. This will not lessen the effect of the other texts. My desire, however, is that readers, who possess enough mathematical and technical knowledge, go deeper into the essence of the matter. I hope they include also many students from the upper grades of high school.
April 2003
Blagovest Sendov
