The Infinite Machine

How an Army of Crypto-Hackers Is Building the Next Internet with Ethereum

By: Camila Russo

Narrated by: Laura Jennings

Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

Written with the verve of such works as The Big Short, The History of the Future, and The Spider Network, here is the fascinating, true story of the rise of Ethereum, the second-biggest digital asset in the world, the growth of cryptocurrency, and the future of the internet as we know it.

Everyone has heard of Bitcoin, but few know about the second largest cryptocurrency, Ethereum, which has been heralded as the "next internet".

The story of Ethereum begins with Vitalik Buterin, a supremely gifted 19-year-old autodidact who saw the promise of blockchain when the technology was in its earliest stages. He convinced a crack group of coders to join him in his quest to make a super-charged, global computer.

The Infinite Machine introduces Vitalik’s ingenious idea and unfolds Ethereum’s chaotic beginnings. It then explores the brilliant innovation and reckless greed the platform - an infinitely adaptable foundation for experimentation and new applications - has unleashed and the consequences that resulted as the frenzy surrounding it grew: increased regulatory scrutiny, incipient Wall Street interest, and the founding team’s effort to get the Ethereum platform to scale so it can eventually be accessible to the masses.

Financial journalist and cryptocurrency expert Camila Russo details the wild and often hapless adventures of a team of hippy-anarchists, reluctantly led by an ambivalent visionary, and lays out how this new foundation for the internet will spur both transformation and fraud - turning some into millionaires and others into felons - and revolutionize our ideas about money.

©2020 Camila Russo (P)2020 HarperAudio

Well researched and informative

4.5 of 5 stars.

Camila Russo has written a highly informative history of the development of Ethereum and the broader world of crypto currencies. Unlike many modern “journalists”, Ms. Russo actually performed the actual research and conducted the interviews to narrate the development of this world changing technology. Told from the perspective of multiple primary participants who are often at odds with one another, The Infinite Machine is an enjoyable read which goes into some of the high level mechanics of Ethereum, Bitcoin and the other crypto currencies which are the next technological paradigm shift.

The narration is solid but a bit monotone at times. It doesn’t detract from the story however. Recommended for investing and crypto enthusiasts.

Amazing story of Ethereum's birth

An amazing review of Ethereum's birth and historical positioning as today's most important blockchain and ecosystem.

A brilliant chronicle about the creation of ETH

Russo does an absolutely brilliant job chronicling the origin and history of Ethereum. Very well written and easy to listen to.
It is dramatic. She tells it as a story. This works so well as an audiobook. If you are learning about crypto assets and the blockchain, this book will give you a foundational background into the the players, the events, the thought processes and the underlying motivation and drive in creating ETH and other crypto assets. Russo has done such a good thing in capturing this history.

Writing is great: it flows. Hats off to the editors. Narration is great: it flows, too.

I have been listening to audiobooks for many years. I have heard some great book, but I have never written a review. This is my first one. Many times while listening I thought: "This is so in-depth and so well written, I've got to write a review." Here it is.

About me: very into crypto and blockchain but not a techie.

Great intro to all Crypto

if you have not been in crypto for more than two years this book is a really good introduction and catalog of the history of crypto. It goes back to 2009 at least.

my favorite crypto book

in addition to telling the story of ethereum, this book also covers the development of the industry in the most balanced summary I have seen so far.

Great story for crypto fans

I like the story plot and tone. It was very instructional on blockchain concepts and as an overview of these technologies.

Good overview

As someone who's been there through all of this, I could relate to it all and had a hard time not feeling nostalgic or almost tearing up at some of the flashbacks the book took me through. The narrator is okay but has some strange pronunciations (ConensSYS, e-doubleu-a-es-em for eWASM, Is.tan.bul. for Istanbul) and sometimes sounds robotic, but generally very good. I wish this book had been published 6 months later so it could have documented what DeFi had become in the meanwhile, and also the launch of Eth2 phase 0, but maybe a second edition will catch up.

All in all highly recommended historical overview for anyone who wants to know what this Ethereum stuff is all about.

Nice narrative but it sounds like Siri reading it

This book goes into far more people's lives than I was expecting. it was nice.

Excellent educational read

Anyone in Crypto or NFTs should read this book. It's a great history book with regards to the development of Ethereum, the struggles through the development, ICOS, and a brief introduction to DAOs and NFTS. 11/10 recommend. I couldn't put it down.

Good behind the scenes look at ethereum’s evolution

Great book, i would have given 5 stars if the author was more objective in her story. I felt there was a bit of idolizing and worshiping of some of the founders which was more than mildly annoying...