The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood

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Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, Mar 1, 2011 - Science - 544 pages
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From the bestselling author of the acclaimed Chaos and Genius comes a thoughtful and provocative exploration of the big ideas of the modern era: Information, communication, and information theory. 
 
Acclaimed science writer James Gleick presents an eye-opening vision of how our relationship to information has transformed the very nature of human consciousness. A fascinating intellectual journey through the history of communication and information, from the language of Africa’s talking drums to the invention of written alphabets; from the electronic transmission of code to the origins of information theory, into the new information age and the current deluge of news, tweets, images, and blogs. Along the way, Gleick profiles key innovators, including Charles Babbage, Ada Lovelace, Samuel Morse, and Claude Shannon, and reveals how our understanding of information is transforming not only how we look at the world, but how we live.

A New York Times Notable Book
A Los Angeles Times and Cleveland Plain Dealer Best Book of the Year
Winner of the PEN/E. O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award 

 

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LibraryThing Review

User Review  - ehousewright - LibraryThing

I really enjoyed this book, even though it took me quite a while to finish. What I like best about it is how each focus area gave me insights into things I hadn't before considered. What I liked least ... Read full review

LibraryThing Review

User Review  - capewood - LibraryThing

The history of information science over perhaps the last 1000 years but mainly the past 100 or so. It's pretty dense in parts but I found it interesting and helps to understand our modern world where information is everywhere and available to us 24/7. Read full review

Selected pages

Contents

Prologue
Drums That Talk
The Persistence of the Word
Two Wordbooks
To Throw the Powers of Thought into WheelWork
A Nervous System for the Earth
New Wires New Logic
Information Theory
The Sense of Randomness
Information Is Physical
After the Flood
New News Every
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography

The Informational Turn
Entropy and Its Demons
Lifes Own Code
Into the Meme Pool
Index
A Note About The Author Illustration Credits
Copyright

Other editions - View all

The Information: A History, A Theory, A Flood
James Gleick
Limited preview - 2012
The Information: A History, A Theory, A Flood
James Gleick
No preview available - 2012
The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood
James Gleick
No preview available - 2011
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Common terms and phrases

algorithm alphabet American appeared Babbage become began beginning Bell bits brain Calculating called Cambridge carried century Charles Babbage Claude Collected communication complex considered culture developed dictionary digits effect electrical energy engine English entropy example exist experience expressed gene History human idea Information Theory invented John Journal knowledge known language later less letters Library living logic London look machine Mass mathematician mathematics matter meaning measure mechanical meme mind nature needed never noted operator organism Oxford Philosophical physics possible probability problem quantum quantum mechanics question quoted random represent Scientific seemed sense Shannon signals Society sound structure symbols tables talk telegraph telephone things thought thousand Turing turn understand United University Press wanted wire words writing written wrote York

About the author (2011)

JAMES GLEICK is our leading chronicler of science and technology, and the author of Chaos and Genius, both nominated for the National Book Award, and Isaac Newton, which was shortlisted for the Pulitzer Prize. His books have been translated into thirty languages.

www.around.com


Bibliographic information

QR code for The Information
TitleThe Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood
AuthorJames Gleick
Editionunabridged
PublisherKnopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2011
ISBN0307379574, 9780307379573
Length544 pages
Subjects › 

Science / History
Social Science / Research
Technology & Engineering / History
  
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