The Master Switch

The Rise and Fall of Information Empires

By: Tim Wu

Narrated by: Marc Vietor

Length: 14 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

A secret history of the industrial wars behind the rise and fall of the 20th century's great information empires - Hollywood, the broadcast networks, and AT&T - asking one big question: Could history repeat itself, with one giant entity taking control of American information?

Most consider the Internet Age to be a moment of unprecedented freedom in communications and culture. But as Tim Wu shows, each major new medium, from telephone to cable, arrived on a similar wave of idealistic optimism only to become, eventually, the object of industrial consolidation profoundly affecting how Americans communicate. Every once-free and open technology was in time centralized and closed, a huge corporate power taking control of the master switch. Today, as a similar struggle looms over the Internet, increasingly the pipeline of all other media, the stakes have never been higher. To be decided: who gets heard, and what kind of country we live in. Part industrial exposé, part meditation on the nature of freedom of expression, part battle cry to save the Internet's best features, The Master Switch brings to light a crucial drama rife with indelible characters and stories, heretofore played out over decades in the shadows of our national life.

©2010 Tim Wu (P)2010 Audible, Inc

Critic reviews

“Wu’s engaging narrative and remarkable historical detail make this a compelling and galvanizing cry for sanity - and necessary deregulation - in the information age.” ( Publishers Weekly)

“This is an essential look at the directions that personal computing could be headed depending on which policies and worldviews come to dominate control over the Internet.” ( Booklist)

"There’s a sharp insight and a surprising fact on nearly every page of Wu’s masterful survey. Above all, Wu shows that each new communications technology spawns the same old quest for power." ( The Boston Globe)

"A brilliant exploration of the oscillations of communications technologies between 'open' and 'closed' from the early days of the telephone up through Hollywood and broadcast television up to the Internet era." (Forbes.com)

"My pick for economics book of the year." (Ezra Klein, The Washington Post)

A Geek's History of Tech

What did you love best about The Master Switch?

The detailed history of technology, starting with the phone and going to today's internet.

What other book might you compare The Master Switch to and why?

Probably The Victorian Internet.

What about Marc Vietor’s performance did you like?

He did a great job with difficult names, and correctly pronounced the various technologies that were involved.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

It had to be the way the president of RCA/NBC suppressed the development of FM radio as it would have meant retooling their radio factories to move from AM to FM.

Any additional comments?

This was a wonderful history of tech, perfect for a geek such as myself. I enjoyed the story progresses over time, as a good history should. When technology evolved and changed (such as moving from the telegraph to the telephone) he does a masterful job of explaining both the shift and ramifications thereof.

I also enjoyed the exploration of technology in the early motion picture industry, something I've never thought of as a "tech" phenomena previously.

If you are a geek, this is a must read. It's fascinating to see how the internet of today wouldn't be possible without all the tech that came before it, going all the way back to the telegraph.

I have (as of today) 699 books in my collection, and this book is right at the top of my favorites, definitely in my top 5 list.

The key to understanding net neutrality

This book is integral to understanding how corporations stifle innovation to maintain control of an unsustainable Monopoly.

Excellent, Smart, Entertaining

Detailed historical account that's exciting...it reads like a novel; yet, you get an intellectual workout. It's builds an interesting case for how companies eventually deal with changing access to information.

amazing story of technology

I have been a technology lover for last twenty years but could never see the cycle of development{business cycle }
In another great book from Tim Wu after Who controls Internet , takes on a ride of technology as if we had gone back in time with main actors of story.
It has been a interesting read as I have completed part 1 in one go.

Great work Tim Wu, we need more like you

Would be better if it was shorter

The information contained in this book is wonderful and enlightening. I learned a lot about the history of the telephone, movies, radio and the Internet.

I am keeping this review really short to contrast how terribly long and drawn out this book is. I would estimate that half of the words in the book are unnecessary and do nothing but make the book longer and harder to read. I found it very boring and frustrating because of this. But the information you walk away with if you make it through the book is really great stuff.

Good History, Bad Economics

As a history of the development of telephony, radio, film, televsion, and the information age, this book is terribly interesting. It brings alive the periods and the people that brought us to the present point. It contains interesting trivia without getting bogged down in detail.

As economics, however, it falls flat. I will limit myself to three examples. First, the author feels that these industries would have remained fragmented and creative, if not for the rethlessness of certain men. But every industry goes through a period of consolidation, including cars, airlines, and mobile phones.

Second, he constantly bemoans that radio went to an advertising-based model, but does not really present an alternative. Even European governments that supported broadcast media with taxes have now gone to an advertsing model. Where is the alternative?

Finally, he makes a fundamental mistake by viewing Google as a search engine company committed to openness. Google is an advertising company that uses search ond other tools to sell advertising. This mis-understanding of Google's business colors everything that the author writes about the future of the internet.

Most Intriguing

Loved the narrator. Very interesting content. Easy to follow the progression to where we are today.

Colorful, listenable, documentary-style story

Tim Wu, it is immediately apparent, is a master storyteller. This is not a straight treatise at the theoretical level. Instead it always uses, as good fiction does, action to illuminate its points. So, we get a sense of the human side of all the actors who got a piece of this massive money-infused contest. Also, we get a tour through one technology after another, showing that nothing is truly new under the sun, in terms of the excitement of new tech, and various elements of the story. This works well as a US history book in itself, and as a business strategy history book. I feel well rewarded and entertained along the way.

Everything and everyone is interconnected

A comprehensive analysis of how the control of communication infrastructure proves to determine whether our grandchildren will live as free people or slaves; if they live at all.

Compelling!

Great book! Would recommend it to anyone who's interested in learning about the history of information exchange in the US.