Rewired [Hardcover]

David Hudson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1997

The author tells the story of the growth of the Web and the Internet from its philosophical foundation to its eventual realization as the largest network ever built. This book explores the historic technological tale of the Web along with the social forces that made it a reality.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

David Hudson turns a skeptical but humorous eye on the past, present, and future of the Internet, and, with an irreverence that stops just short of cynicism, debunks the myths of a cyber-utopia. He compares Net hype to the dreams of earlier communications revolutions--predictions that telephones would mean the end of traffic jams or that cable television would put power into the hands of individuals and small business.

Access is a big issue for Hudson. While it's still possible to participate online with a low-powered computer and slow modem, various pressures on the Net (the growth of the graphical Web and the trend toward snazzier graphics and animations) continue to raise the price of total participation. This is no one-man tirade, however. The book also offers conversations with people like virtual community pioneer Howard Rheingold, Rock producer Brian Eno, and Louis Rosetto, cyber-libertarian and publisher of Wired magazine.

It's not that Hudson is down on cyberculture--he's soaking in it. But he has a firm disregard for the sort of romanticizing that closes its eyes to real problems and real issues. And while he agrees that the Net is part of a major revolution in world culture, he doesn't believe the direction that revolution will take is easy to predict. One highlight of the book is the series of interviews Hudson conducted with writer Paulina Borsook, who dared to criticize Wired and Rosetto--and then lost her contract with Wired's book publishing division, Hardwired. Many of these essays and interviews have appeared on the Rewired Web site, but Hudson has pulled them together topically, and added commentary and updates.

From the Publisher

Written by an industry expert, this must-have tome explores the history and growth of the Web and Internet from its philosophical foundations to its eventual realization as the largest network ever built. It's the perfect resource for technologists, cyber-inventors, and Web enthusiasts who want to fully understand the intricacies of the technological creation of one of the most powerful innovations of the 20th century. - Shows who created the technologies of the Web and why

- Discusses the scientific and social phenomenon that created the Internet and the Web

- Provides insight into the true commerce mechanisms of the Web

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Macmillan Technical Pub; 1st edition (June 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1578700035
• ISBN-13: 978-1578700035
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,878,160 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ok, although dated, March 27, 2003

By 

Sebastian Uribe (Buenos Aires, BA Argentina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rewired (Hardcover)

It can be fun to read this book now, some years after the internet bubble exploded, because it was written in 1996, before the bubble started to grow so big. But it gave some good foresight of would happen. For example, it talks about people being the killer application of the internet before ICQ and its clones became popular, or about the importance of sharing information before Napster even existed.
It has some good points and some not so good, but in general it gives a human-centered view of the "internet revolution", putting in it's place all the hype that surrounded it.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Economy inside the net, July 14, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Rewired (Hardcover)

Reading the phrase net economy is one way sollution to understand the electronic commerce behavior