100 Things We've Lost to the Internet

By: Pamela Paul

Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan

Length: 5 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

The acclaimed editor of The New York Times Book Review takes listeners on a nostalgic tour of the pre-internet age, offering powerful insights into both the profound and the seemingly trivial things we've lost.

Remember all those ingrained habits, cherished ideas, beloved objects, and stubborn preferences from the pre-internet age? They’re gone.

To some of those things we can say good riddance. But many we miss terribly. Whatever our emotional response to this departed realm, we are faced with the fact that nearly every aspect of modern life now takes place in filtered, isolated corners of cyberspace - a space that has slowly subsumed our physical habitats, replacing or transforming the office, our local library, a favorite bar, the movie theater, and the coffee shop where people met one another’s gaze from across the room. Even as we’ve gained the ability to gather without leaving our house, many of the fundamentally human experiences that have sustained us have disappeared.

In 100 glimpses of that pre-internet world, Pamela Paul, editor of The New York Times Book Review, presents a captivating record of the world before cyberspace - from voicemails to blind dates to punctuation to civility. There are the small losses: postcards, the blessings of an adolescence largely spared of documentation, the Rolodex, and the genuine surprises at high school reunions. But there are larger repercussions, too: weaker memories, the inability to entertain oneself, and the utter demolition of privacy.

100 Things We’ve Lost to the Internet is at once an evocative swan song for a disappearing era and, perhaps, a guide to reclaiming just a little bit more of the world IRL.

©2021 Pamela Paul (P)2021 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“[A] rare feat of exploring what technology has done to us without succumbing to doom and panic.... Poignant, thought-provoking.” (The Guardian)

“An accomplished solo act.... Readers who remember the dawning of the internet era will find plenty to commiserate with in this mostly lighthearted lament.” (Publishers Weekly)

enjoyable

mostly does a good job of not sounding like an angry boomer... pretty fair all-in-all and provided some nice nostalgia. good, light, enjoyable listen. thanks NPR!

Nostalgic

What a great trip down memory lane. This is the perfect book to listen too whilst you are doing other chores, because it is easy to get into. The chapters are short, and well written. I spent a lot of time reflecting over what the Internet has given us, and what we have lost. Highly recommend this to anyone who grew up before the internet was a thing.

Memory Lane

This is a great book. It brings back so many memories of the things that we used to have and the way that we used to live. I kind of felt like I wanted to go back there while listening to this book. It only goes through a hundred things, but I can't help but feel that there's much more that we've lost. Very thought-provoking. I highly recommend it.

So glad I read this!!

Pamela Paul does a masterful job of highlighting how life has changed for us so quickly with the arrival of the internet. She is witty, compelling, and informed. I highly recommend reading this book!