Utopia Is Creepy: And Other Provocations

By turns wry and revelatory, and occasionally maddening, Carr succeeds at shaking the reader out of screen-zombie complacency.” - Discover Magazine“Full of wry vignettes and articles lampooning the motivated enthusiasm and game-changing promises of Silicon Valley’s tech bro elite… by turns cute, funny or chilling. A collection that reminds us that critical thinking is the best way to view the mixed blessings of rampant technology. “The prescient Nicholas Carr punches a hole in Silicon Valley hubris.” - Rana Foroohar, Time“Carr, a Pulitzer Prize finalist, takes on modern life’s short attention spans and worship of the superficial in a rapid-fire volley of ideas deceptively designed to engage at a depth greater than 140 characters. And it’s m

“Resistance is never futile,” argues Carr, and this book delivers the proof.. And “likes” and retweets are not going to elevate political discourse. Utopia Is Creepy compels us to question the technological momentum that has trapped us in its flow. Social networks, diverting as they may be, are not vehicles for self-enlightenment. A freewheeling, sharp-shooting indictment of a tech-besotted culture.With razor wit, Nicholas Carr cuts through Silicon Valley’s unsettlingly cheery vision of the technological future to ask a hard question: Have we been seduced by a lie? Gathering a decade’s worth of posts from his blog, Rough Type, as well as his seminal essays, Utopia Is Creepy is “Carr’s best hits for those who missed the last decade of his stream of thoughtful commentary about our love affair with technology and its effect on our relationships”

. He lives in Boulder, Colorado. Nicholas Carr is the author of The Shallows, a Pulitzer Prize finalist, and The Glass Cage, among other books. Former executive editor of the Harvard Business Review, he has written for The Atlantic, the New York Times, and Wired

Tries to Answer Questions We Need to Ask This book is a collection of entries on the ever-increasing speed of advances in computing, networks and other technologies. Because the chapters are adapted from writings spanning a decade or more, they reflect on developments while they occurred, giving a unique perspective to the insights; often correcting urban myths that are generated by the captains of industry/technology to mythologized themselves and their intent. The author presents a birds eye view of the Internet and casts away our the illusion that it grants extended control over our lives. He sees it as a useful appliance, but also a method of co. A valuable critical guide to Cyberutopia This is a fine read: ingenious, nicely written, full of insights and humor. I enjoyed it thoroughly and, particularly, the following paragraph inspired me: "The millions of people who write book reviews for Amazon don't get paid for their labor, but the content they create is a valuable asset for the companies.It's a modern kind of sharecropping system." ( pg. 29 of the Kindle edition)A thought that speaks for itself !. "The clearest thinker on technology and society delights" according to Cameron. This was one of the best books I have read in years. Anyone who is interested in the role of technology, particularly information technology, in our lives and it's threats and limitations - as well as potential, this is as good of a read as you will find. Carr is a masterful writer, a great researcher and clear thinker. He's not 'drank the cool-aid' of the tech world, but knows what it smells like.