The history of the computer is entwined with that of the modern world and most famously with the life of one man, Alan Turing. How did this device, which first appeared a mere 50 years ago, come to structure and dominate our lives so totally? An enlightening mini-biography of a brilliant but troubled man.

Mobile phones are a ubiquitous technology with a fascinating history. There are now as many mobile phones in the world as there are people. We carry them around with us wherever we go. And while we used to just speak into them, now mobiles are used to do all kinds of tasks, from talking to twittering, from playing a game to paying a bill.Jon Agar takes the mobile to pieces, tracing what makes it work, and puts it together again, showing how it was shaped in different national contex...

#1 New York Times Bestseller • Los Angeles Times BestsellerOne of The Wall Street Journal's 10 Books to Read Now • One of Kirkus Reviews's Best Nonfiction Books of the Year • One of Publishers Weekly's Most Anticipated Books of the YearShortlisted for the OWL Business Book Award and Longl...

In 2009, a group of digital technology experts at the Citizen Lab uncovered an espionage network affecting more than 100 countries and targeting ministries of foreign affairs, embassies, international organizations, and media outlets. The investigation was but one example of a contest for the future of cyberspace that was becoming more intense with each passing year. Drawing on the first-hand experiences of the Citizen Lab, Ronald Deibert examines the multiplying forms of control hidden de...

This Independence Day edition of The World is Flat 3.0 includes an an exclusive preview of That Used to Be Us: How America Fell Behind in the World It Invented and How We Can Come Back, by Thomas L. Friedman and Michael Mandelbaum, on sale September 5th, 2011.A New Edition of the Phenomenal #1 Bestseller"One mark of a great book is that it makes you see things in a new way, and Mr. Friedman certai...

“Magisterial. . . . Draws an elegant and illuminating parallel between the late-19th-century electrification of America and today’s computing world.”—SalonHailed as “the most influential book so far on the cloud computing movement” (Christian Science Monitor), The Big Switch makes a simple and profound statement: Computing is turning into a utility, and the effects of this transition will ultimately change society as completely as the advent of cheap elec...

Chances are…you are looking at yours right now. They are--quite literally--everywhere. US President Barack Obama admits he cannot live without it. Oprah Winfrey, reigning queen of daytime TV, declared on air that the BlackBerry is one of her "favorite things." BusinessWeek put the case for owning one bluntly in an article entitled simply: "No BlackBerry. No Life." From its relatively modest debut in 1999, the BlackBerry has emerged almost overnight to become the most necessary and sought afte...

This book puts a powerful tool in the hands of serious students who are determined to achieve a high IELTS band score. Its aim is to help the candidate improve their band score by providing high quality examples, explanations and analysis of IELTS Academic Task 1 and Task 2 writing.Achieving a high IELTS band is not easy! Ignore books that tell you otherwise. It is a difficult job which requires both patience and determination. IELTS Writing tasks, in particular, demand hard work w...

The renowned Internet commentator and author of How to Fix the Future"expos[es] the greed, egotism and narcissism that fuels the tech world" ( Chicago Tribune).The digital revolution has contributed to the world in many positive ways, but we are less aware of the Internet's deeply negative effects. The Internet Is Not the Answer, by longtime Internet skeptic Andrew Keen, offers a comprehensive look at what the Internet is doing to our liv...

An unflinching look at the aspiring city-builders of our smart, mobile, connected future.We live in a world defined by urbanization and digital ubiquity, where mobile broadband connections outnumber fixed ones, machines dominate a new "internet of things," and more people live in cities than in the countryside.In Smart Cities, urbanist and technology expert Anthony Townsend takes a broad historical look at the forces that have shaped the planning and design of citi...

Drawing on his thirty years in newspapers, the former editor-in-chief of The Globe and Mail examines the crisis of serious journalism in the digital era, and searches for ways the invaluable tradition can thrive in a radically changed future.John Stackhouse entered the newspaper business in a golden age: 1980s circulations were huge and wealthy companies lined up for the privilege of advertising in every city's best-read pages. Television and radio could ne...

What is the true human cost of the war in Afghanistan? What are the real effects of the austerity measure? And how did the London riots spread so quickly?Facts are Sacred, the Guardian's award-winning datablog, publishes and analyses seemingly benign data - released under the auspices of transparency - to bring its readers astonishing revelations about the way we live now. It reveals how data has changed our world and what we can learn from it. Now, the most telli...