The aim of this book is to interest young people from the ages of ten to fourteen in computers, particularly to show them that computers are exciting machines, controlled by people, and to dispel myths that computers can do magic. This is not a detailed exposition of computers, nor is it a textbook. It is an attempt to impart flavor and general comprehension. The basic concepts of a computer are first described; then the reader is shown how numbers are represented. The process of programming is an important topic of the book. Several examples are given of problems which can be solved by computers, such as guiding a spaceship and predicting weather. One of the newest and most intriguing uses of the computer, as a teaching machine, is also fully explained. The principals of operation of the computer are clearly explained, but young people concerned more with action than with explanations can generally skip the details without losing the main ideas of the world of electronic computers. (Author/MF)