The Pearly Gates Of Cyberspace - A History Of Space From Dante To The Internet [Import] [Hardcover]

Margaret Wertheim (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday (1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0868247448
• ISBN-13: 978-0868247441
• ASIN: 1860495273
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,236,020 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pearly Gates Redux, June 14, 2006

By 

MargaretWertheim - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Pearly Gates of Cyberspace: A History of Space from Dante to the Internet (Paperback)

I am the author of this book and I would like to agree with the gist of many of the reviews here. The first half of the book - which traces the cultural history of Western concepts of space - is the real meat of the text and is by far the strongest part. The final part of the book, which deals with cyberspace, is weak by comparison. Actually when I wrote the book, I only wanted to write the first part, with a final short and tentative reflection on the then emerging realm of cyberspace. But the publisher - who thought cyberspace was a hip topic - pressed me to make cyberspace a bigger part of the exercise. I too feel that these final chapters have to a large degree been superceded by the development of the Net since 2000. But the real story of the book is the first 5 chapters which trace a critical transition in Western culture's conception of what it means to be a human embedded in a wider spatial scheme. It is this part of the book - which the European reviewers especially praised - that stands as the real achievement and that I would still urge apon readers.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating but breathless look at our conception of space,, September 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Pearly Gates of Cyberspace: A History of Space from Dante to the Internet (Hardcover)

The ground that this book is trying to cover is certainly expansive, and it's no wonder that some of the topic areas get short shrift. The initial chapters on our conceptions of space are fantastic: I was aware of how our conceptions have changed from absolute space to relativistic and beyond, but Wertheim did an excellent job of demonstrating how much of this change was conceptual rather than purely a change of scientific theory. More importantly, she shows how these changes affect our world-view and spiritual beliefs, and how these affect science and art in turn. For example, she argues that the flat & "unreal" nature of early religious paintings is a reflection of the idea of heaven being outside of normal space. Thus the adoption of three-dimension perspective drawing techniques signaled a shift towards the dominance of physical space. For anyone seeking good examples of changes in scientific paradigms, this book is an excellent place to start.

After recording a history of space to date, Wertheim tries to describe cyberspace as being the next significant shift in our conception of space. To most steeped in our current physicalist tradition, the concept of cyberspace as being an actual space is pretty way-out, but it does make sense in light of the previous world-views described by Wertheim. However, Wertheim characterises cyberspace as a place we enter, but in many ways it is the opposite- the projection of another space into our own. Viewed this way, the radical conclusions Wertheim makes seem rather far-fetched.

Where I was most disappointed was in Wertheim's treatment of "cyber-soul-space". The idea of uploading our selves into a virtual world is an enticing one, but too many of the complicated issues of self and consciousness are given a skimpy treatment, skipped over almost breathlessly as Wertheim races towards her conclusion. Many of these issues have been dealt with extensively in other books, but I was keen to see Wertheim's particular slant, as there are many interesting parallels between these issues and some of the medieval theologies discussed earlier. Overall, I enjoyed this book, but was disappointed that the initial rigour and detail of the first half was not followed through, but this is an inherent danger of writing a book with such a wide scope.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A mind-expanding exploration of the spaces that surround us., May 13, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Pearly Gates of Cyberspace: A History of Space from Dante to the Internet (Hardcover)

I have always wanted to read a cultural history of space, something that would help me understand how humans have conceived and poeticized the nature of the dimensions that surround them. Wertheim's book gave me all I wanted, and more. Wertheim shows us that space is part of a story that we humans are always telling ourselves about where and who we are. Unlike most science writers, Wertheim navigates the dire straits between science and the cultural imagination with intelligence and grace....._The Pearly Gates of Cyberspace_ isnt just longago history. In the closing chapters, Wertheim uses her fascinating tale to help us understand the psychological and even spiritual motivations that draw so many people to the Internet and electronic communications. Wertheim's basic argument -- that modern science banished the phantasms of the "soul" from our surroundings, and that those powerful images and yearnings are now returning inside the synthetic "space" of electronic information -- both acknoweldges the metaphysical yearnings expressed by cyberspace and refuses to give in to naive cyberhype. She ends her tale with some strong moral arguments rooted in both the eternal realities of the human imagination and the pressing historical demands of our time.