The Master Switch

Name: The Master Switch
Brand: Allen & Unwin
SKU: 9781848879867
Price: 30.0 NZD
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The Rise and Fall of Information Empires

By Tim Wu

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3.89

( 7,949 ratings, 500 reviews)

Summary

The Master Switch by Tim Wu explores the cyclical nature of information industries, examining how open systems often evolve into closed ones dominated by powerful monopolies. The book covers historical shifts in industries like telephony, radio, television, and the internet, illustrating how initial openness gives way to controlled and centralised power. Wu delves into the implications of these cycles on innovation and regulation.
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Format: Paperback / softback

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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you're fascinated by the history of communication technologies and how they shape society. It offers a compelling look at the cyclical nature of innovation and monopoly, exploring how major media industries rise and fall, and the implications this cycle has for freedom and control in the digital age.

The Master Switch

Part industrial expose, part examination of freedom of expression, The Master Switch reveals the decades of power play in the shadows of global communication and how it relates to the Internet today.

At the heart of this fascinating book is one of the central questions of our age - rendered more urgent by recent events in the Arab world: is the internet a revolutionary innovation that will overthrow the established order... or will it turn out to have been an unruly technology, that will never escape the controlling embrace of corporations and governments? (Guardian)

Description

It is easy to forget that every development in the history of the information industry—from the telephone to radio to film—once existed in an open and chaotic marketplace inhabited by entrepreneurs and utopians, just as the Internet does today. Each of these, however, grew to be dominated by a monopolist or cartel.

In this pathbreaking book, The Master Switch, Tim Wu asks: will the Internet follow the same fate? Could the Web—the entire flow of information—come to be ruled by a corporate leviathan in possession of 'the master switch'?

Analyzing the strategic manoeuvres of today's great information powers—Apple, Google, and an eerily resurgent AT&T—Wu uncovers a time-honoured pattern in which invention begets industry, and industry begets empire. He shows how a battle royale for the Internet's future is brewing, and this is one war we dare not tune out.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

The Master Switch by Tim Wu has received impressive reviews for its insightful analysis and engaging storytelling. The book is praised for its exploration of the history of communications industries and its relevance to current media legislation. With a keen eye for detail, Wu manages to weave historical narratives with contemporary relevance, captivating readers with both his storytelling and analytical skills.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781848879867

Publisher: Atlantic Books

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 01 January 2012

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Atlantic Books

Edition: Main

Audience: Tertiary education, Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 27.0mm

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 330g

Pages: 384

Collections

Education & Reference Non-Fiction Science & Nature Tim Wu

About the Author

Tim Wu is an author, a policy advocate, and a professor at Columbia University. A veteran of Silicon Valley, in 2006 he was recognized as one of fifty leaders in science and technology by Scientific American magazine. He won the Lowell Thomas gold medal for Travel Journalism, and has contributed to The New Yorker, The New York Times and Forbes. He is also a fellow of the New America Foundation and the chairman of the media reform organization Free Press. He lives in New York.

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