Resisting the Virtual Life: The Culture and Politics of Information

In this treatise on the current information explosion, the authors question the implications of technological alienation. Its academic language may disappoint readers who expect the jargon common to other books on the subject. But the points presented here are important and will leave readers wondering if the information age is an advancement or simply a flashier means of oppression. The authors point out that corporations will surely use the new technologies for their own ends, and many of the essays suggest strategies to resist this control. The collection is divided into four sections covering various social and political aspects of the new information thoroughfares. In ``It's Discrimination, Stupid!'' Oscar H. Gandy Jr. explores the issues of privacy. ``Soldier, Cyborg, Citizen'' by Kevin Robins and Les Levidow examines the hybrid nature of the ``cyborg,'' a ``machine-like self'' able to remove himself from the consequences of his actions. Doug Henwood negates the promises of opportunity in ``Info Fetishism'' by exposing a future joblessness caused by smart machines. In ``Reading and Writing with Borges,'' James Brook defends an endangered commodity, the book, arguing that it will likely survive the latest threat to abolish print materials. Though the contributors are of varied backgrounds, they share a healthy skepticism about the grandiose claims of those pushing for a virtual world. (June)