"The Master Switch" is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the history and potential future of the internet. Wu's book brilliantly and accessibly explores the power structures and corporate interests at play in the development of communication technology. Wu pulls no punches in showing how the internet is at risk of becoming just another tool for monopolistic control. Anyone concerned about the future of open communication needs to read this book.

Riley is your virtual thrift companion, and here to help you find your next favourite read. You can also find in-stock similar reads linked by topic and genre here!

The Internet Age: on the face of it, an era of unprecedented freedom in both communication and culture. Yet in the past, each major new medium, from telephone to satellite television, has crested on a wave of similar idealistic optimism, before succumbing to the inevitable undertow of industrial consolidation. Every once free and open technology has, in time, become centralized and closed; as corporate power has taken control of the 'master switch.' Today a similar struggle looms over the Internet, and as it increasingly supersedes all other media the stakes have never been higher. Part industrial expose, part examination of freedom of expression, "The Master Switch" reveals a crucial drama - full of indelible characters - as it has played out over decades in the shadows of global communication. It is suitable for readers of Nicholas Carr's "The Shallows", Clay Shirky's "Cognitive Surplus" and "Googled" by Ken Auletta.

Note: While we do our best to ensure the accuracy of cover images, ISBNs may at times be reused for different editions of the same title which may hence appear as a different cover.