Modem Nation: The Handbook of Grassroots American Politics Online [Paperback]

Charles Bowen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 9, 1996

Just as talk radio influenced the elections of 1994, the Internet is revolutionizing politics today. With 14,000 people per day signing on to commercial online services such as CompuServe and America Online, and millions surfing the Internet, Americans now have direct access to the elected officials who speak for them. They're online debating issues, campaigning for their candidates, and supporting special interests.

Charles Bowen offers readers an overview of the way politics works in the wired world, and explains how to become a cyber-activist, who's hot online and why, what the major issues are, and where the key players can be reached. He also provides:

An "organization chart" to the developing online political system.

Access to all branches of government, special interest groups, and political parties via Internet or the Web.

Informative sidebars of political commentary, issues, and online tips.

A directory of who's who on the Net.

Special sections on news, consumer advocacy, and business.


Modem Nation is everything users need to wire up and be heard.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Modern media, so the complaint goes, have reduced politics to its lowest common denominator: if it doesn't fit the 30-second campaign spot or the 8-second sound bite, it doesn't exist. The beauty of the Internet, of course, is that this format doesn't hold up. On the Net, *you* control the length and depth of the discussions; there is as much political information available as you want. Charles Bowen's book is a useful map of this new political territory. There are scads of URLs here for an array of political parties and interest groups, as well as for the various specific departments of federal, state, and local government. Maybe one of the coolest things was learning about The World's Smallest Political Quiz, found at http://lydia.bradley.edu/campusorg/libertarian/wspform.html, which, using only ten multiple-choice questions, assigns you a place on the political spectrum. Time-saving tip: if you refuse to answer any of the questions, you're an anarchist.

From the Inside Flap

Just as talk radio influenced the elections of 1994, the Internet is revolutionizing politics today. With 14,000 people per day signing on to commercial online services such as CompuServe and America Online, and millions surfing the Internet, Americans now have direct access to the elected officials who speak for them. They're online debating issues, campaigning for their candidates, and supporting special interests.

Charles Bowen offers readers an overview of the way politics works in the wired world, and explains how to become a cyber-activist, who's hot online and why, what the major issues are, and where the key players can be reached. He also provides:

An "organization chart" to the developing online political system.

Access to all branches of government, special interest groups, and political parties via Internet or the Web.

Informative sidebars of political commentary, issues, and online tips.

A directory of who's who on the Net.

Special sections on news, consumer advocacy, and business.


Modem Nation is everything users need to wire up and be heard.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 356 pages
• Publisher: Crown Business; 1 edition (July 9, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812927931
• ISBN-13: 978-0812927931
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,158,383 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Charles Bowen has been writing professionally since 1967 and has published two dozen books of nonfiction, mostly about computers and communications. His first novels have been inspired by cruises he and his wife, Pamela, have taken on the steamboat of dreams, The Delta Queen.

Bowen's professional roots are in journalism, a career that started in the late 1960s as a news correspondent for The Associated Press. He continued his newspaper career for 17 years as a reporter, a columnist and then a city editor, before beginning his full-time freelance career in 1985.

Bowen's experience in cyberspace actually pre-dates the launch of the World Wide Web by more than a decade. He has written some two dozen books about computer communications and technology, working with major publishing houses, including Random House, Bantam Books, IDG Books Worldwide and Times Books. His first book was How To Get The Most Out of CompuServe, a best-seller published by Bantam Books. That book went into five editions and had a publication life of nearly 10 years, highly unusual for a computer book. He also wrote CompuServe from A to Z (Random House), The Hitchhiker's Guide To America Online (MIS Press), Teach Yourself America Online (IDG) and Modem Nation (Times Books).

Also for more than six years, he hosted a syndicated daily radio show called "Internet News," carried on some 200 stations in the U.S. and 600 aboard via Voice of America. During that time, he broadcast reviews more than 1,200 Web sites and was on hand to report the start of some of the major Internet resources in use today.

Besides books, Bowen has been an active columnist both in computer publications and in the general press. He was a long-time contributing editor and columnist for Home PC magazine and the America West in-flight magazine and wrote a weekly Internet-oriented column for Editor & Publisher, a magazine serving the newspaper industry.

A native of Kanawha County, West Virginia, Bowen and his wife, Pamela, have lived in Huntington since 1971. He is a 1970 graduate of the University of Kentucky.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars published Sept. 26, 1996, October 15, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: Modem Nation: The Handbook of Grassroots American Politics Online (Paperback)

I'll pass on (this book) to political writers and editors
here... because I think they'll find it useful and fun
probably too. It's also journalistically solid, thanks to
the solid reporting of Bowen, a former Associated Press
correspondent-turned-computer-writer who hosts the syndicated
radio show, "The Internet News." ... This books gives the
specifics, right down to dozens and dozens of Web addresses,
with the philosophy that, when it comes to politics, you are
your own interest group."

4.0 out of 5 stars published August 1996, September 10, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: Modem Nation: The Handbook of Grassroots American Politics Online (Paperback)

If the Internet and the Web figure in this year's elections
as Larry King and MTV did in 1992, Bowen's guide will
circulate.... Savvy online journalist Bowen surveys the
cyberspace sites of politicians, parties, political
tendencies (liberal and conservative) and activists on 21
issues (from abortion and AIDS to peace and race/ethnic
relations). He also profiles online government information
resources, sites for news, commentary, and consumer
information on the Net and cybercitizens' political
communication options. A broadly inclusive introduction to
wired politics.

4.0 out of 5 stars published July 1, 1996, September 10, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: Modem Nation: The Handbook of Grassroots American Politics Online (Paperback)

The book is a complete field guide to digital tools that can
make participation in politics easier, more rewarding, and
more effective. It's well worth reading for all who have
an interest in politics.