Blockchain: The Next Everything

By: Stephen P. Williams

Narrated by: Jonathan Todd Ross

Length: 4 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's Summary

An experienced tech writer fully explains blockchain technology and how it will radically transform the world as we know it in this accessible, listener-friendly, illuminating guide.

What is blockchain? Why does everyone from tech experts to business moguls to philanthropists believe it is a paradigm-shifting technology, bound to revolutionize society as significantly as the internet? Indeed, why is blockchain touted as "The Next Everything"?

In this deft, fascinating, and easy-to-digest introduction to one of the most important innovations of recent times, Stephen P. Williams answers these questions, revealing how cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are just one example among dozens of transformative applications that this relatively new technology makes possible. He interprets the complexity into digestible anecdotes, metaphors, and straightforward descriptions for listeners who don’t know tech and explains all of blockchain’s most important aspects: why this so-called digital ledger is unhackable and unchangeable; how its distributed nature may transfer power from central entities like banks, government, and corporations to ordinary citizens around the world; and what its widespread use will mean for society as a whole.

Taking us on a dazzlingly vivid tour through the systems predicted to soon underpin economics, politics, global trade, science, art, and numerous other aspects of our everyday lives, Blockchain: The Next Everything is a truly extraordinary journey into our future.  

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2019 Stephen P. Williams (P)2019 Simon & Schuster

Unexpected political bend, not much tech.

Are you looking for a laymen's breakdown about how Blockchains work or creative ways programmers are actively building on them? You aren't going to find it here. Cluttered with anecdotes and unnecessary "artistic" adjectives about the authors personal life, which lead into pontificating on the virtues of egalitarianism, very little is actually said about the underlying technology. The book was almost entirely noise revolving around the political opinions of the author. Very little is spoken about the security, scarcity, and active development which makes the blockchain-space exciting. Instead of corresponding with the individuals and groups toiling on the projects themselves, he speaks about "Blockchain philosophers" (which seems like a completely made-up psuedo-intellectual credential) about the potential of blockchains empowering "matriarchy", just for an example. The author expressed distaste for the current (secular, non-partisan, STEM) culture surrounding crypto/blockchain and instead replaced his vision with a utopian socialist fantasy, leaving me to believe that the author isn't actually all to passionate about corresponding on the reality of the blockchain-sphere. I do not recommend!