Reviews
"A provocative and sure-to-be-controversial book . . . Lucid, powerful and persuasive. It is necessary reading for anyone interested in how the Web and the software we use every day are reshaping culture and the marketplace." -Michiko Kakutani,The New York Times "Important . . . At the bottom of Lanier's cyber-tinkering is a fundamentally humanist faith in technology, a belief that wisely designed machines can bring us closer together by expanding the possibilities of creative self-expression . . . His mind is a fascinating place to hang out." -Ben Ehrenreich,Los Angeles Times "Persuasive . . . [Lanier] is the first great apostate of the Internet era." -David Wallace-Wells,Newsweek "Thrilling and thought-provoking . . . A necessary corrective in the echo chamber of technology debates.You Are Not a Gadgetchallenges many dominant ideologies and poses theoretical questions, the answers to which might start with one bright bulb, but depend on the friction of engaged parties. In other words, Lanier is acting like a computer scientist. Let's hope he is not alone." -John Freeman,San Francisco Chronicle "A call for a more humanistic-to say nothing of humane-alternative future in which the individual is celebrated more than the crowd and the unique more than the homogenized . . .You Are Not a Gadget may be its own best argument for exalting the creativity of the individual over the collective efforts of the 'hive mind.' It's the work of a singular visionary, and offers a hopeful message: Resistance may not be futile after all." -Rich Jaroslovsky, Bloomberg.com "Provocative . . . [Lanier] confronts the big issues with bracing directness . . . The reader sits up. One of the insider's insiders of the computing world seems to have gone rogue." -Sven Birkerts,The Boston Globe "Sparky, thought-provoking . . . This is good knockabout stuff, and Lanier clearly enjoys rethinking received tech wisdom: his book is a refreshing change from Silicon Valley's usual hype." -Paul Marks,New Scientist "Lanier's detractors have accused him of Ludditism, but his argument will make intuitive sense to anyone concerned with questions of propriety, responsibility, and authenticity." -The New Yorker "Poetic and prophetic, this could be the most important book of the year. The knee-jerk notion that the net as it is being developed sets us free is turned on its head . . . Read this book and rise up against net regimentation!" -Iain Finlayson,The Times(London) "From crowd-sourcing to social networking and mash-ups, Lanier dismantles the tropes of the current online culture." -Bloomberg.com, "Five Top Business Books of 2010" "Lanier asks some important questions . . . He offers thoughtful solutions . . .Gadgetis an essential first step at harnessing a post-Google world." -Eli Sanders,The Stranger(Seattle) "Lanier turns a philosopher's eye to our everyday online tools . . . The reader is compelled to engage with his work, to assent, contradict, and contemplate. In this, Lanier's manifesto is not just a success, but a meta-success . . . Lovers of the Internet and all its possibilities owe it to themselves to plunge into Lanier's [You Are Not a Gadget] and look hard in the mirror. He's not telling us what to think; he's challenging us to take a hard look at our cyberculture, and emerge with new creative inspiration." -Carolyn Kellogg,F, A New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and Boston Globe Bestseller “Lucid, powerful and persuasive. . . . Necessary reading for anyone interested in how the Web and the software we use every day are reshaping culture and the marketplace.� -Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times “Persuasive. . . . Lanier is the first great apostate of the Internet era.� - Newsweek “Thrilling and thought-provoking. . . . A necessary corrective in the echo chamber of technology debates.� - San Francisco Chronicle “Mind-bending, exuberant, brilliant. . . . Lanier dares to say the forbidden.� - The Washington Post “With an expertise earned through decades of work in the field, Lanier challenges us to express our essential humanity via 21st century technology instead of disappearing in it. . . . [ You Are Not a Gadget ]compels readers to take a fresh look at the power-and limitations-of human interaction in a socially networked world.� - Time (“The 2010 Time 100�) “Lanier is not of my generation, but he knows and understands us well, and has written a short and frightening book, You Are Not a Gadget , which chimes with my own discomfort, while coming from a position of real knowledge and insight, both practical and philosophical.� -Zadie Smith, The New York Review of Books “Sparky, thought-provoking. . . . Lanier clearly enjoys rethinking received tech wisdom: his book is a refreshing change from Silicon Valley’s usual hype.� - New Scientist “Important. . . . At the bottom of Lanier’s cyber-tinkering is a fundamentally humanist faith in technology. . . . His mind is a fascinating place to hang out.� - Los Angeles Times “A call for a more humanistic-to say nothing of humane-alternative future in which the individual is celebrated more than the crowd and the unique more than the homogenized. . . . You Are Not a Gadget may be its own best argument for exalting the creativity of the individual over the collective efforts of the ‘hive mind.’ It’s the work of a singular visionary.� - Bloomberg News “A bracing dose of economic realism and Randian philosophy for all those techno utopianists with their heads in the cloud. . . . [Lanier is] a true iconoclast. . . . He offers the sort of originality of thought he finds missing on the Web.� - The Miami Herald “For those who wish to read to think, and read to transform, You Are Not a Gadget is a book to begin the 2010s. . . . It is raw, raucous and unexpected. It is also a hell of a lot of fun.� - Times Higher Education “[Lanier] confronts the big issues with bracing directness. . . . The reader sits up. One of the insider’s insiders of the computing world seems to have gone rogue.� - The Boston Globe “ Gadget is an essential first step at harnessing a post-Google world.� - The Stranger (Seattle) “Lanier turns a philosopher’s eye to our everyday online tools. . . . The reader is compelled to engage with his work, to assent, contradict, and contemplate. . . . Lovers of the Internet and all its possibilities owe it to themselves to plunge into Lanier’s manifesto and look hard in the mirror. He’s not telling us what to think; he’s challenging us to take a hard look at our cyberculture, and emerge with new creative inspiration.� - Flavorwire “Poetic and prophetic, this could be the most important book of the year. . . . Read this book and, ANew York Times, Los Angeles Times,andBoston GlobeBestseller "Lucid, powerful and persuasive. . . . Necessary reading for anyone interested in how the Web and the software we use every day are reshaping culture and the marketplace." -Michiko Kakutani,The New York Times "Persuasive. . . . Lanier is the first great apostate of the Internet era." -Newsweek "Thrilling and thought-provoking. . . . A necessary corrective in the echo chamber of technology debates." -San Francisco Chronicle "Mind-bending, exuberant, brilliant. . . . Lanier dares to say the forbidden." -The Washington Post "With an expertise earned through decades of work in the field, Lanier challenges us to express our essential humanity via 21st century technology instead of disappearing in it. . . . [You Are Not a Gadget]compels readers to take a fresh look at the power-and limitations-of human interaction in a socially networked world." -Time("The 2010Time100") "Lanier is not of my generation, but he knows and understands us well, and has written a short and frightening book,You Are Not a Gadget, which chimes with my own discomfort, while coming from a position of real knowledge and insight, both practical and philosophical." -Zadie Smith,The New York Review of Books "Sparky, thought-provoking. . . . Lanier clearly enjoys rethinking received tech wisdom: his book is a refreshing change from Silicon Valley's usual hype." -New Scientist "Important. . . . At the bottom of Lanier's cyber-tinkering is a fundamentally humanist faith in technology. . . . His mind is a fascinating place to hang out." -Los Angeles Times "A call for a more humanistic-to say nothing of humane-alternative future in which the individual is celebrated more than the crowd and the unique more than the homogenized. . . .You Are Not a Gadgetmay be its own best argument for exalting the creativity of the individual over the collective efforts of the 'hive mind.' It's the work of a singular visionary." -Bloomberg News "A bracing dose of economic realism and Randian philosophy for all those techno utopianists with their heads in the cloud. . . . [Lanier is] a true iconoclast. . . . He offers the sort of originality of thought he finds missing on the Web." -The Miami Herald "For those who wish to read to think, and read to transform,You Are Not a Gadgetis a book to begin the 2010s. . . . It is raw, raucous and unexpected. It is also a hell of a lot of fun." -Times Higher Education "[Lanier] confronts the big issues with bracing directness. . . . The reader sits up. One of the insider's insiders of the computing world seems to have gone rogue." -The Boston Globe "Gadgetis an essential first step at harnessing a post-Google world." -The Stranger(Seattle) "Lanier turns a philosopher's eye to our everyday online tools. . . . The reader is compelled to engage with his work, to assent, contradict, and contemplate. . . . Lovers of the Internet and all its possibilities owe it to themselves to plunge into Lanier's manifesto and look hard in the mirror. He's not telling us what to think; he's challenging us to take a hard look at our cyberculture, and emerge with new creative inspiration." -Flavorwire "Poetic and prophetic, this could be the most important book of
