And, in many ways, hypertext is liberating. Web authors, usually of a more post-modern, hyper era than traditional authors of yesteryear, tend to think more spatially than linearly. Hypertext, by its very nature, pares down the amount of text . Where books present page after page of information, hypertext is one continuous page and thereby brevity is valued highly. Therein lies the problem.
Text allows for much more detailed information about a topic.
Hypertext is not yet a substitute but rather an addition to our culture of text. Sadly, in twenty years, hypertext may complete the hostile take-over begun with the birth of the world wide web. With more and more texts being transferred to HTML, it seems only a matter of time.