author: Tim Wu
name: Elaine
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2010
rating: 5
read at: 2011/04/06
date added: 2011/04/29
shelves: economics, history, non-fiction, politics, wishlist
review:
As with Nothing to Envy, I should have written this review right after reading the book. It was fantastic, and I’d like to read it again. Great history of the "Information Empires" of the 20th and early 21st century, the continuing tension between openness and control. The history of television seemed particularly instructive: there was no early era of openness; instead Sarnoff (RCA/NBC) manipulated everything he could to make sure that it came out under the exact same control as radio at the time. Found myself kinda wishing for some discussion of Facebook in the closing chapters, in which there was a lot of focus on Apple & Google. It seemed to me that Facebook (or its moral equivalents) are the elephant in the room in that discussion. Very highly recommended.