Review round-up
July 30, 2007
When I started writing my book a few years ago, I never set out to write a science book. But as I started researching the history of information systems, I became increasingly interested in the question of how other species share information, and what their experiences might be able to teach us about our own. Gradually I found myself wading into topics like evolutionary psychology and sociobiology. And I started getting a little nervous. I was an English major, after all (Renaissance poetry, to be precise), and I hadn't studied biology since high school (thank you, Mrs. Griffin). So it was with more than a little hesitation that I started reading and writing about things like group selection and epigenetic rules. As a lifelong liberal arts type, I couldn't help but wonder whether anyone would ever take me seriously. So I've been relieved - and frankly a little surprised - to discover that the science press seems to be paying attention.
In the latest issue of Nature, Harvard history professor Ann Blair gives the book a serious reading and a measured review. On the one hand, she seems to admire my book's ambitions and thinks I've done a reasonable job of tackling academic topics for a general audience (calling the book "a well-informed account of information management across a surprising range of examples"). She takes exception to some of my conclusions, however, arguing that I succumb to "hasty sociobiological generalization" that "argues from evidence selected to suit its purposes." Frankly, it's a fair criticism; I may well have overstated my case in the final chapter. But she concludes the review on an upbeat note: "This stimulating book offers much opportunity to reflect on the nature and long history of information management as a damper to the panic or the elation we may variously feel as we face ever greater scales of information overload."
In other news, Kate Douglas writes a brief review in New Scientist, calling the book "a rambunctious romp through the history of information processing." And Science News gives the book a straightforward, fairly neutral write-up.
I've been keeping a running list of reviews here (including blog posts). If you know of one I've missed, please let me know.
File under: Glut
_____________________« Matthew Carter | The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. »
GLUT:
Mastering Information Through the Ages
New Paperback Edition
“A penetrating and highly entertaining meditation on the information age and its historical roots.”
—Los Angeles Times
