Customer Reviews

Ruling the Root: Internet Governance and the Taming of Cyberspace

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Mueller's work, recounting the Internet's Domain Name Wars, is entirely "interesting." Little is widely known about the history and origins of the Internet; what many think they know constitutes little more than mythology. Here is an excellent recount of the history of the Internet's development, and how conflicts with the naming space came to be. This is required reading for those interested and concerned with the potential success or failure of the Internet governance experiment. This is a continuation of a long history of excellent work by Mueller and is well recommended.

As one who was there for this entire timeline, I can attest to the accuracy of Mueller's book (and the suggestion to read Crocker's account is misguided, as his account is about the most biased treatment available. Be warned on that as well).

What this book, and no other treatment to date has been able to do is capture the flavor of the events. Notwithstanding that, however, Mueller explains what happened and why, and as an academic accounting, is spot on, and his analysis is just as accurate.

Mueller is an excellent and very careful researcher, and this book reflects that. This book was a crucial research tool for my own book, Who Controls the Internet?

Before accepting too much of this author's version of history, PLEASE read Dave Crocker's review in "The Internet Protocol Journal" (December, 2002, pages 27-30). Dave lived through this era as a major participant and his review is well worth the read.