Hailed by Bruce Sterling as “a political activist, gizmo freak, junk collector, programmer, entrepreneur, and all-around Renaissance geek,” the Internet’s favorite high-tech culture maven is celebrated with the first collection of his infamous articles, essays, and polemics. Irreverently championing free speech and universal access to information—even if it's just a free download of the newest Britney Spears MP3—he leads off with a mutinous talk given at Microsoft on digital rights management, insisting that they stop treating their customers as criminals. Readers will discover how America chose Happy Meal toys over copyright, why Facebook is taking a faceplant, how the Internet is basically just a giant Xerox machine, why Wikipedia is a poor cousin of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, and how to enjoy free e-books. Practicing what he preaches, all of the author's books, including this one, are simultaneously released in print and on the Internet under Creative Commons licenses that encourage their reuse and sharing. He argues persuasively that this practice has considerably increased his sales by enlisting readers to promote his work. Accessible to geeks and nontechies alike, this is a timely collection from an author who effortlessly surfs the zeitgeist while always generating his own wave.
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Doctorow here proves he’s smart, funny, and good at accessibly boiling down issues he’s passionate about. On topics ranging from fanfic (readers’ additions to their favorite authors’ creations, usually online) to the terrible business model Microsoft presents by treating customers like potential thieves from the beginning, Doctorow moves to the forefront of conversations likely to determine how creators and audiences are able to use new technologies. He compares Internet content-management problems to similar technological snafus—such as the transition from live performance to radio, and from manuscript to printed books—and how the established order of the day reacted, demonstrating his grasp of the ways in which history repeats itself and how we can use the lessons of history to cope with further changes in the exchange of information. Doctorow excels in writing short forms, the essay no less than the short story, making this collection a pleasure to read, not to mention thought-provoking. --Regina Schroeder
Review
"Doctorow here proves he's smart, funny, and good at accessibly boiling down issues he's passionate about . . . a pleasure to read, not to mention thought-provoking." —Booklist
"Cory Doctorow straps on his miner's helmet and takes you deep into the caverns and underground rivers of pop culture." —Neil Gaiman, author, American Gods
"We should all hope and trust that our culture has the guts and moxie to follow this guy. He's got a lot to tell us." —Bruce Sterling, author, Zeitgeist
"Cory Doctorow is the apotheosis of what we talk about when we talk about the Web." —SF Site
"If all those Generation Z and proto-Singularity kids reading Doctorow's Little Brother also find their way to Content, this book may well become a classic." —mattselznick.com
"The most articulate and accessible writer engaged in these topics." —Time Out Chicago
"A nice collection of essays." —TeleReads
"More than just insightful, brilliant, and to the point—it's also funny and fun to read." —Electronic Frontier Foundation
Canadian-born Cory Doctorow has held policy positions with Creative Commons and the Electronic Frontier Foundation and been a Fulbright Fellow at the University of Southern California. He is a co-editor of the popular weblog BoingBoing (boingboing.net), which receives over three million visitors a month. His science fiction has won numerous awards, and his YA novel LITTLE BROTHER spent seven weeks on the New York Times bestseller list.
I've read or seen most of the material in this book online and am a big fan of Cory's work. I thought this would be a great resource to have instead of a bunch of print outs or bookmarks. Cory Doctorow has some of the best thought out arguments against DRM and for digital freedoms, pointing out tons of interesting historical examples along the way. Great read!
Excellent way for someone relatively new to Cory's non-fiction to come up to speed quickly. A great overview of his thoughts on copyright, the Internet, and society. And even if you're a dyed-in-the-wool True Fan (like me), you'll probably find something new, and you'll definitely enjoy having the essays collected in one place. His Microsoft DRM essay is included, which is a favorite of mine. Well worth picking up if you have any interest whatsoever in topics like the future of copyright, media and the Internet, etc.
Doctorow has put the opinions that have been bubbling round in my head since the metallica/napster debaucle into eloquent, well-informed words. I can only hope that such a vision of the world will become reality. This collection is a call to arms for anyone concerned about what I believe is a war being fought for a truly democratic internet. One of the best purchases I've made recently!
