Reviews

Computer scientist and Internet guru Lanier's fascinating and provocative full-length exploration of the Internet's problems and potential is destined to become a must-read for both critics and advocates of online-based technology and culture. Lanier is best known for creating and pioneering the use of the revolutionary computer technology that he named virtual reality. Yet in his first book, Lanier takes a step back and critiques the current digital technology, more deeply exploring the ideas from his famous 2000 Wired magazine article, "One-Half of a Manifesto," which argued against more wildly optimistic views of what computers and the Internet could accomplish. His main target here is Web 2.0, the current dominant digital design concept commonly referred to as "open culture." Lanier forcefully argues that Web 2.0 sites such as Wikipedia "undervalue humans" in favor of "anonymity and crowd identity." He brilliantly shows how large Web 2.0-based information aggregators such as Amazon.com-as well as proponents of free music file sharing-have created a "hive mind" mentality emphasizing quantity over quality. But he concludes with a passionate and hopeful argument for a "new digital humanism" in which radical technologies do not deny "the specialness of personhood." (Jan.) Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.

Popularly known for his ruminations on the social pathology of information technology, computer scientist Lanier is immensely concerned that the design patterns of today's omnipresent 2.0 web services are about to be locked in. He argues that technology prophets from many disciplines have us blissfully ignorant of the sacrifices we make when submerging our individual identities into online collectives like Facebook. In addition, the web's early promise in terms of innovation, democracy, and interpersonal communication has not come to be; instead, an online culture has emerged that undermines the foundation of the knowledge economy. Flows of information, Lanier notes, are more important than what is being shared, whole expressions of creativity and arguments are replaced by fragments, and authors are successful by simply reusing the past instead of producing genuinely new works. Still, Lanier is optimistic that it's not too late to move away from cybernetic totalism by taking the "red pill" his book offers-for the web does not design itself, we design it. Verdict If you can't imagine a world without today's social technologies, this is a must read for 2010. [100,000-copy first printing; see Prepub Alert, LJ 9/1/09.]-James A. Buczynski, Seneca Coll. of Applied Arts & Technology, Toronto Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.

A "New York Times, Los Angeles Times, "and "Boston Globe" Bestseller
"Lucid, powerful and persuasive. . . . Necessary reading for anyone interested in how the Web and the software we use every day are reshaping culture and the marketplace."
--Michiko Kakutani, "The New York Times"
"Persuasive. . . . Lanier is the first great apostate of the Internet era."
--"Newsweek"
"Thrilling and thought-provoking. . . . A necessary corrective in the echo chamber of technology debates."
--"San Francisco Chronicle"
"Mind-bending, exuberant, brilliant. . . . Lanier dares to say the forbidden."
--"The Washington Post"
"With an expertise earned through decades of work in the field, Lanier challenges us to express our essential humanity via 21st century technology instead of disappearing in it. . . . ["You Are Not a Gadget"]""compels readers to take a fresh look at the power--and limitations--of human interaction in a socially networked world."
--"Time" ("The 2010 "Time" 100")
"Lanier is not of my generation, but he knows and understands us well, and has written a short and frightening book, "You Are Not a Gadget," which chimes with my own discomfort, while coming from a position of real knowledge and insight, both practical and philosophical."
--Zadie Smith, "The New York Review of Books"
"Sparky, thought-provoking. . . . Lanier clearly enjoys rethinking received tech wisdom: his book is a refreshing change from Silicon Valley's usual hype."
--"New Scientist"
"Important. . . . At the bottom of Lanier's cyber-tinkering is a fundamentally humanist faith in technology. . . . His mind is a fascinating place to hang out."
--"Los Angeles Times"
"A call for a more humanistic--to say nothing of humane--alternative future in which the individual is celebrated more than the crowd and the unique more than the homogenized. . . . "You Are Not a Gadget" may be its own best argument for exalting the creativ