Forged in War

How a Century of War Created Today’s Information Society

De: R. David Lankes

Narrado por: Tom Perkins

Many of what we think of as Information Age tools and media - computers, cell phones, the Internet, encryption, and more - evolved directly out of modern warfare. These tools started with World War I, accelerated through World War II and the Cold War, and now play a center role in both declared and non-declared conflicts like election interference and cyberbattles.

We buy phones and smart speakers because they are new and unlock great potential. Voice assistants like Siri and Alexa help us do our work and answer that one piece of trivia that bugs us. Yet these devices are data gatherers. They collect, repackage, and monetize our questions, purchases, photographs, web surfing to form a data industry now larger than the oil industry.

Well over 100 years ago the data industry put in place a business model that trades our attention for news and entertainment. That model has evolved into a complex art and science of message targeting and content ownership that has splintered communities while simultaneously concentrating media ownership to a few massive corporations. Forged in War takes a critical look at the systems we use and how we ended up in a society that values data over personal liberty and commerce over the public good.

©2021 The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. (P)2021 Tantor

Excellent Summary of Modern Information

I enjoyed this book a lot more that I expected, and finished it in relative speed. The narration is also very good. The book does two things very well. The first is showing how significant events in history have affected our modern Information environment. I found these historical examinations to be complleling. The second thing the book does is present an understanding of the information environment and infrastructure today, with a focus on problems and weaknesses. I think you can probably find books that do one of these two things better, especially if focused on very specific topics like cyber. But this book provides a great generalized look at the dawn of the information age. Ignore the 1 star ratings. While the authors polictical leanings are easy to divine based on what examples he chooses to use, the content is largely accurate. Only left or right wing extremists who live in a false reality would take issue with most of the well argued points in the book.