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Imaginary Futures: From Thinking Machines to the Global Village

Imaginary Futures: From Thinking Machines to the Global Village

enlarge enlarge 		Author: Richard Barbrook
Publisher: Pluto Press
Category: Book

List Price: £16.99
Buy New: £16.14
You Save: £0.85 (5%)



Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars 1 reviews
Sales Rank: 168087

Media: Paperback
Pages: 344
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.3 x 0.9

ISBN: 0745326609
Dewey Decimal Number: 303.483309730112
EAN: 9780745326603
ASIN: 0745326609

Publication Date: April 1, 2007
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
Also Available In:

  • Hardcover - Imaginary Futures: From Thinking Machines to the Global Village
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Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars The pre-history of the Internet   November 28, 2008
Alan Lenton (London)
Subtitled 'From Thinking Machines to the Global Village', this is a really unusual and interesting book. It's about the political and philosophical lineage of the Internet. Beginning with the 1964 New York World's Fair, it traces the Cold War origins of the politics which gave rise to the Internet.

For Barbrook the work on cybernetics by Norbert Weiner and John von Neumann fused with the 'global village' concept developed by Marshall McLuhan provided the impetus for the eventual development of the Internet. This was elaborated on by a group of former left wing intellectuals including such luminaries as Walt Rostow, J. K. Galbraith, and Daniel Bell who were able to turn it into a vision of a an American future that would compete with that of the Cold War enemy - Russia.

The book charts the history of the ideas and actions of this group through to its discrediting through the denouement of the Vietnam War. It also covers - unfortunately all to briefly - how the ideology was co-opted and resuscitated by Californian neo-cons via Wired magazine.

I suspect Barbrook's left wing analysis, and some of his assumptions, will make American readers feel uncomfortable. In addition, I feel that the analysis has a touch of one-dimensionality about it. None the less, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone interested in an analysis of the Internet's political pre-history.


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