The Big Switch: Rewiring the World, from Edison to Google

Nicholas Carr begins with a history lesson on electricity...how it evolved from water wheels to utilities that centralized production and transmission. The result was a shift in how business could be conducted, and the eventual rise of the middle class in America. Carr compares that water wheel to early computer systems used by single companies, and predicts how the shift to Internet-based networks (the World Wide Computer) may impact all of society. I found his analysis of the effects of YouTube, Wikipedia, Flickr, and the like fascinating!

"Carr's book is persuasive, well-researched, authoritative and convincing. He's reasonable in his conclusions and moderate in his extrapolations. This is an exceedingly good book. " --Techworld

"The first serious examination of 'Web 2.0' in book form." --The Register

The Big Switch is available in print at the SPL.