Author and journalist james gleick tells the story of information technologies that, he claims, changed the very nature of human consciousness. Gleick considers both theory and practice in this farranging tour, discussing among much else communication via everything from drumbeat to telegraph, attempts to collect and. Into the breach steps the gifted science writer james gleick. Acclaimed science writer james gleick presents an eyeopening vision of how our relationship to information has transformed the very nature of. James gleick, the author of the best sellers chaos and genius, now brings us a work just as astonishing and masterly. James gleick science writer, threetime pulitzer prize finalist and author of the information. It was on the new york times bestseller list for three weeks following its debut. James gleick is our leading chronicler of science and modern technology. The information has also been published in ebook formats by fourth estate and random house, and as an audiobook by random house audio. A history, a theory, a flood, james gleick does not pretend to answer these questions fully.
James gleick s survival lessons by david diamond, august 1, 1999. The life and science of richard feynman and isaac newton, were shortlisted for the pulitzer prize. A history, a theory, a flood, paperback by gleick, james, isbn 1400096235, isbn 9781400096237, brand new, free shipping in the us from the invention of scripts and alphabets to the long misunderstood talking drums of africa, james gleick tells the story of information technologies that changed the very nature of human consciousness. Think your inbox is jammed now, your attention span overtaxed. Its only the beginning, writes popscience writer gleick isaac newton, 2003, etc. James gleick is a science historian and author of 11 books.
Its a long, complicated, and important story, beginning with tribal drummers and ending with quantum physics, and in gleick. His first book, chaos, a national book award finalist, has been translated into 25. His books have been translated into thirty languages. Time travel is another of james gleicks superb, unclassifiable booksrich in obscure and illuminating information, laced with lyricism, wit, and startling and convincing insights. A history, a theory, a flood, which won the royal societys winton prize for science and pens hesselltiltman history prize in 2012, among. Acclaimed science writer james gleick presents an eyeopening vision of how our. From african talking drums to wikipedia, from morse code to the bit, it is a fascinating account of the modern ages defining idea and a brilliant exploration of how information has revolutionised our lives. A history, a theory, a flood is a book by science history writer james gleick published in march 2011 which covers the genesis of our current information age. In the information james gleick tells the story of how human beings use, transmit and keep what they know. As a celebration of human ingenuity, the information is a deeply hopeful book. James gleick from the invention of scripts and alphabets to the long misunderstood talking drums of africa, james gleick tells the story of information technologies that changed the very nature of human. James gleick, the author of the bestsellers chaos and genius, brings us his crowning work. James gleick argues that information is more than just the contents of our libraries and web servers.
Some worried that the telegraph would be the death of newspapers, james gleick observes in this fascinating book, but newspapers could not. The book explains more fully and more systematically than any other how the foundations of our information order were laid. It has been a long progression toward the infoglut of today. Making a new science, which was a pulitzer prize and national book award finalist in 1987, and the information. Three of these books have been pulitzer prize and national book award finalists, and they have been translated into more than twenty languages. Winner of the royal society winton prize for science books 2012, the worlds leading prize for popular science writing. A history, a theory, a flood is a book by science history writer james gleick published in march 2011 which covers the genesis of our current. The life and science of richard feynman, were pulitzer prize finalists. Acclaimed science writer james gleick presents an eye opening vision of how our relationship to information. Too much information information overload is the subject of the last third of gleick s book, where he quietly drops shannons concept of information. He explores where the age of information is taking. James gleick delivers a mindbending exploration of time travelfrom its origins in literature. A history, a theory, a flood, james gleick describes a technological innovation so transformative that it. James gleick s the information is a wideranging exploration of humanitys struggle to make sense and maintain order of its evergrowing store of ideas and knowledge.
James gleick, the author of the best sellers chaos and genius, n. Best books of 2016 boston globe the atlantic from the acclaimed bestselling author of the information and chaos comes this enthralling history of time travela concept that has preoccupied physicists and storytellers over the course of the last century. Winner of the royal society winton prize for science books 2012. Acclaimed science writer james gleick presents an eyeopening vision of how our relationship to information. James gleick is our leading chronicler of science and technology, and the author of chaos and genius, both nominated for the national book award, and isaac newton, which was shortlisted for the pulitzer prize. Nicholas carr says thats the troubling conclusion of james gleick s. His first book, chaos, a national book award finalist, has been translated into twentyfive languages. Ever feel like information threatens to overwhelm meaning. I came to this volume with only a vague idea about information and information theory but having been very impressed by gleick s book on chaos chaos. Nicholas carr, the daily beast an amazing erudite and yet highly readable account of why and how information plays such a central role in all our lives, gleick s the information is amongst the most profound books written about technology over the last few years. Recognized for his writing about complex subjects through the techniques of narrative nonfiction, he has been called one of the great science writers of all time. James gleick born august 1, 1954 is an american author, journalist, and biographer, whose books explore the cultural ramifications of science and technology.
Information, communication, and information theory. Nyr daily the making of future man january 31, 2017. This is an engaging work that explores our understanding of information and how it has changed over time. A history, a theory, a flood by james gleick in doc, fb2, txt download e book. The story of information begins in a time profoundly unlike our own, when every. James gleick has such a perspective, and signals it in the first word of the title of his new book, the information, using the definite. Acclaimed science writer james gleick presents an eyeopening vision of how our relationship to information has transformed the very nature of human consciousness. Making a new science, explained chaos theory in laymans terms by focusing on the stories of those scientists who were pioneers in the field and was a finalist for the national book award and the pulitzer. Bit by bit, the information reveals everything at the core of everything lies a binary onoff switch, says james gleick, the author of a new book called the information. In his formidable new book, the information, gleick explains how weve progressed from seeing information as the expression of human thought and emotion to looking at it as a commodity that can be processed, like wheat or plutonium. The book is not written as a straightforward history, which might have been a temptation for someone charting the progress of. The information, by james gleick, is to the nature, history and significance of data what the beach is to sand. It is an exploration not only of the theoretical phenomenon of time travel but of. James gleick is a leading american science journalist, historian, and biographer.
We sort the mail, build sandcastles, solve jigsaw puzzles, separate wheat from chaff, rearrange chess pieces, collect stamps, alphabetize books. In 1948, as james gleick shows in his rich and fascinating new book, claude shannon transformed information into something completely. In the information james gleick looks at this very basic concept and how it has come to play an increasingly prominent role in human life, especially through technology. Hugo gernsback 18841967 has mostly vanished from our cultural memory, which is a pity, because he was an extraordinary man, and his influence on our modern ageelectrical, sciencepermeated, and full of wonderswas outsized. To accomplish that he opens the book by discussing the advent of drumming, signals, telegraph, telephone and the computer. A history, a theory, a flood seeks to place information in historical context. All content included on our site, such as text, images, digital downloads and other, is the property of its content suppliers and protected by us and international laws.
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