The Internet's history and social impact
      What made the 'net pioneers tick, and how that's still relevant
                                  Netizens
   On the history and impact of Usenet and the Internet by Michael Hauben
                              and Ronda Hauben
        Publisher: IEEE Society Computer Press; Los Alamitos, Calif.
                        Media: 345 pages (hardcover)
               Price: $28.95 (IEEE member discount - $23.95)
                             ISBN: 08186-7706-6
       Whether or not you agree with the authors' prediction that the
   Internet will bring far-reaching social and communications changes to
   the world -- or, indeed, that the 'net has already started to do just
   that -- this book is a must-read for anyone evenly remotely connected
     with or to the Internet. Part philosophical tome (inspired by the
      writings of Thomas Paine and Jean Jacques Rousseau), part social
     science and part history, the book is worth the price of admission
       solely for its look at some of the Internet/Arpanet pioneers.
    The worthwhile part is not just a discussion of what the technology
    was or is, but what the inventors were thinking at the time. J.C.R.
    Licklider, director of the Department of Defense's ARPA Information
    Processing Techniques Office, co-wrote a paper in 1968 that defined
   how computers could help people take action with the information they
   received and sent. Licklider and his co-writer, Robert Taylor, viewed
    communication as an interactive creative process -- and this, it is
     worth noting, was way before the Whiz Kids of the Web came up with
        their various spinning whirlagigs and whirling thingamabobs.
      The book also delves into the evolution of Usenet, time-sharing
     computers, the Unix operating system at the root of virtually the
   entire 'net backbone, and other precursors to the World Wide Web that
   most of us use today. The people responsible for these inventions were
   and are brilliant -- and we in the industry can still learn much from
                                   them.
    Where the book falls down some, IMHO, is in all the other topics it
      tries to take on: the 'net and politics; the 'net and the media;
    expanding one's horizons on the Internet; the future. The authors --
      and the numerous Netizens they quote -- certainly make valid and
   important points about each of these topics. But the book's structure
               suffers as a result of trying to do too much.
   Also, there's much in here that falls into the category of opinion --
   after all, isn't that what the Internet is really about? But, as such,
   it is certainly open to debate when the authors say things like: "Only
    by seeing many points of view can one figure out his or her position
   on a topic." Some might disagree, saying they don't need other people
    to tell them what or how to think. Ah, but disagreement is the stuff
   of which Usenet groups are made -- and remade. Still, sometimes it is
               difficult to tell the opinion from the facts.
   A more minor quibble: there's an appendix at the back of the book that
     defines acronyms, but doesn't tell the reader what they mean. For
    example, MUSH is defined as "multi-user shared hallicination" -- but
   that doesn't really help me understand what MUSH, as a concept, really
                                    is.
      Finally, this is not an "easy" read -- much of it is academic in
    nature, and it will require some slogging through and dedication to
   finish. Then again, it's not necessary to read this cover-to-cover --
    perhaps you're most interested in the discussion of the past, or in
    the authors' vision of the future. It's relatively easy to find and
    read only those parts. Still, a better (larger) type face and a more
                strict copy editor would have helped a lot.
    Overall, though, these negatives don't override my initial reaction:
   Read this book. As good books are supposed to do, it makes you think.
     _________________________________________________________________
                                      
                    Review by Johanna Ambrosio, 10/01/97
                                  CW Staff
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