3.5
The Blind Giant
ByPublisher Description
Nick Harkaway, author of Angelmaker, presents a rousing and energizing look at how we can meaningfully and constructively engage with technology—creating an essential handbook for anyone trying to be human in a digital age.
Some say our devices will lead us to ruin: isolating us from our neighbors, warping communication, delivering an unregulated flood of information that will destroy our humanity. Some say they will be our salvation: enabling global communication and social engagement, putting all the world’s facts at our fingertips, and erasing the barriers that divide us, bringing out the best qualities of humanity. In The Blind Giant, novelist and blogger Nick Harkaway takes us on a lucid, insightful and personal tour of how we live our lives in our technology-obsessed culture. A self-described “missing link” between the pre-Internet generation and the “digital natives” who have grown up with technology, Nick is an enthusiastic guide to digital culture who weaves together examples from literature, psychology, neurology, sociology, history, and his own life while exploring the hazards and joys of the human-machine relationship. In the final analysis, whether we meaningfully engage with the machines we have created, or risk living in a world which is designed to serve computers and corporations rather than people, this book is a must-read for anyone concerned with our digital future.
Some say our devices will lead us to ruin: isolating us from our neighbors, warping communication, delivering an unregulated flood of information that will destroy our humanity. Some say they will be our salvation: enabling global communication and social engagement, putting all the world’s facts at our fingertips, and erasing the barriers that divide us, bringing out the best qualities of humanity. In The Blind Giant, novelist and blogger Nick Harkaway takes us on a lucid, insightful and personal tour of how we live our lives in our technology-obsessed culture. A self-described “missing link” between the pre-Internet generation and the “digital natives” who have grown up with technology, Nick is an enthusiastic guide to digital culture who weaves together examples from literature, psychology, neurology, sociology, history, and his own life while exploring the hazards and joys of the human-machine relationship. In the final analysis, whether we meaningfully engage with the machines we have created, or risk living in a world which is designed to serve computers and corporations rather than people, this book is a must-read for anyone concerned with our digital future.
Download the free Fable app
Stay organized
Keep track of what you’re reading, what you’ve finished, and what’s next.
Build a better TBR
Swipe, skip, and save with our smart list-building tool
Rate and review
Share your take with other readers with half stars, emojis, and tags
Curate your feed
Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesStay organized
Keep track of what you’re reading, what you’ve finished, and what’s next.Build a better TBR
Swipe, skip, and save with our smart list-building toolRate and review
Share your take with other readers with half stars, emojis, and tagsCurate your feed
Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communities4 Reviews
3.5
LukasWM
Created about 7 years agoShare
Report
Michele
Created almost 9 years agoShare
Report
Hannah Swithinbank
Created over 9 years agoShare
Report
“In my current, “I’m-all-about-the-non-fiction” phase (I get one, every so often) I just finished reading Nick Harkaway’s new book The Blind Giant. The simple verdict, it’s good, go read it.
Longer version - yes, I was pre-disposed to like it, I like digital stuff and tech, I like thinking about the impact that they’re going to have, I like Nick Harkaway and his writing (otherwise I probably wouldn’t have bought the hardback). I also like the cover. It pretty.
I also really quite like the approach to the subject, which is very much, ‘I can’t be definitive, and a lot of this is going to be out-of-date in about five minutes anyway, but let’s talk about some interesting questions and start engaging our brains with them.’ I’m not an expert, or even mildly proficient, in this area, so I have no idea what ‘new’ stuff this brings to the table - but it synthesises a lot of ideas and arguments well, isn’t afraid to mention stuff that it’s going to question (and not in a beat-up and burn down the straw man type way), and is very accessible and engaging.”
unknown2_ne1
Created over 11 years agoShare
Report
About Nick Harkaway
NICK HARKAWAY is the author of two novels, The Gone-Away World and Angelmaker, and a regular blogger for the Bookseller’s FutureBook website. From 1999 to 2008, he was a jobbing scriptwriter. During that time he also wrote brochure copy for a company selling bottle-capping machinery, and the website text for an exclusive lingerie boutique. He lives in London with his wife Clare, a human rights lawyer, and his daughter Clemency, an infant.
www.nickharkaway.com
twitter.com/harkaway
www.nickharkaway.com
twitter.com/harkaway
Other books by Nick Harkaway
Start a Book Club
Start a public or private book club with this book on the Fable app today!FAQ
Do I have to buy the ebook to participate in a book club?
Why can’t I buy the ebook on the app?
How is Fable’s reader different from Kindle?
Do you sell physical books too?
Are book clubs free to join on Fable?
How do I start a book club with this book on Fable?
Save to a list
0
/30
0
/100
Private List