Electric Dreams: Computers in American Culture
“Electric Dreamsis a very solid cultural studies offering, smoothly written and largely steering clear of heavy-duty theory, making it an almost ideal candidate for undergraduate courses and as an introduction for newcomers to the field.”-Science Fiction Reader,“Electric Dreamsis at once a synthetic history of the personal computer, a history of representations of the computer, and a treatise on how to think about computing as a cultural phenomenon. Friedman’s original analyses and clear style make the book a pleasure to read.”-Jonathan Sterne,author ofThe Audible Past: Cultural Origins of Sound Reproduction“This engaging but ultimately unsatisfying book examines the “utopian sphere” — a public forum in which alternative futures can be imagined and debated - that arose in response to computing innovations, ranging from Charles Babbage’s Difference Engine to web logs”-Kenneth Lipartito,Florida International University“This book is for anyone who owns or uses a computer. . . . Computers permeate our culture, but we have little idea of where they came from and why we use them the way we do.Electric Dreamsoffers a mirror to our own hopes, desires, and fears, and empowers us as a community to use technology for our own benefit.”-M/C Reviews,“[T]he general reader will thank Mr. Friedman.”-Studies in American Culture,