Comments on: The Digital Decade’s Definitive Reading List: Internet & Info-Tech Policy Books of the 2000s

By: The 10 Most Important Info-Tech Policy Books of 2010

The 10 Most Important Info-Tech Policy Books of 2010 — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 05:03:42 +0000

[...] terms of number of titles and the gravity of the books released, 2010 was one of the biggest years of the past decade (perhaps matched only by 2006 or 2008 in terms of significance). So, here’s my annual list [...]

By: Don’t Miss the Concurring Opinions Symposium about Zittrain’s Future of the Internet

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 22:07:03 +0000

[...] book the most important Internet policy book of 2008 and one of the most important books of the past decade. It’s impact has already been enormous. But I’ve also been unrelenting in my [...]

By: | 2010

| 2010 — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 14:54:02 +0000

[...] The Digital Decade’s Definitive Reading List: Internet & Info-Tech Policy Books of the 2000s [...]

By: Raid recovery

Raid recovery — Mon, 31 May 2010 07:29:05 +0000

Out of all your suggestions will definitely vouch for Sunstein: Infotopia

By: rashmi23w

rashmi23w — Mon, 31 May 2010 02:29:05 +0000

Out of all your suggestions will definitely vouch for Sunstein: Infotopia

By: Been a Slow Year for Tech Policy Books Thus Far, but…

Been a Slow Year for Tech Policy Books Thus Far, but… — Mon, 24 May 2010 02:44:30 +0000

[...] in particular. One of the things that I noticed when I was putting together my compendium, “The Digital Decade’s Definitive Reading List: Internet & Info-Tech Policy Books of the 2000s,” is that there are up years and down years. For example, there weren’t a lot of big [...]

By: Recommended Readings on Technology, Liberty, Social Change – Virtual Worlds Research Project

Fri, 21 May 2010 10:28:04 +0000

[...] dedicated to keeping the internet free of government control). Thierer drafted what he called the Digital Decade’s Definitive Reading List of Internet and Info-Tech Policy Books of the 2000s. Whether you agree with the point of view of TLF is of-course another [...]

By: adsl viettel

adsl viettel — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 12:16:52 +0000

What I can say is very nice and helpful as well as informative post…really help me very much more!! Thanks..

By: book review: Jaron Lanier’s You Are Not a Gadget

book review: Jaron Lanier’s You Are Not a Gadget — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 02:25:06 +0000

[...] the many tech policy-related books I’ve read in recent years, I can’t recall ever being quite so torn over one of them as [...]

By: Observatorio de Gobierno Electrónico » A good list for academics

Observatorio de Gobierno Electrónico » A good list for academics — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 23:29:36 +0000

[...] The Digital Decade’s Definitive Reading List: Internet & Info-Tech Policy Books of the 2000s b… About David:Docente y articulista mexicano (Guadalajara, 1980). Licenciado en derecho y maestro en ciencia política por la Universidad de Guadalajara. Es politólogo, docente en materias relacionadas con las nuevas tecnologías de la información y comunicación y su relación con la sociedad. Responsable del Observatorio de Gobierno Electrónico de UDGvirtual. Ha publicado ensayos y artículos sobre la regulación de Internet, con especial interés en temas de censura. [...]

By: Adam Thierer

Adam Thierer — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 20:10:30 +0000

Thank you Christopher! Some excellent suggestions.

By: Christopher Parsons

Christopher Parsons — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 18:40:52 +0000

I'd suggest the following, as well:
Denardis: Protocol Politics (about the governance issues surrounding IPv6)
Strangelove: The Empire of the Mind - Digital Piracy and the Anti-Capitalist Movement
Flichy: The Internet Imaginair
Mayer-Schonberger: Delete - The Virtue of Forgetting in the Digital Age
Lovink: Dark Fibre - Tracking Digital Internet Culture
Acquisti et al.: Digital Privacy - Theory, Technology, Practices
Sunstein: Infotopia
Chander et al.: Securing Privacy in the Internet Age
Solove: The Digital Person

I'd include Nissembaum's 'Privacy in Context: Technology, Policy, and the Integrity of social Life', given that she's doing pathbreaking work on understanding privacy (and offering tentative framework for dealing with privacy in a digital era).

By: Are You An Internet Optimist or Pessimist? The Great Debate over Technology’s Impact on Society — Technology Liberation Front

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 19:48:28 +0000

[...] that generated a fair bit of attention. So, I figured I must be on to something, and the more Net policy books I read, the more I realized that the divisions between these two camps were growing wider and [...]

By: Chris Marsden

Chris Marsden — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 19:06:20 +0000

Have to admit I think that Lessig's original 'Code' (1999) towers over everything as book of the decade-ish – and influences almost everything – but maybe that's just my academic lawyerly bias. Delighted to see Debora Spar's work there – a great model for 'pragmatic optimists' – her 'Pirates, prophets and pioneers' (1991) just about sums just about sums up the cycle – followed by preachers and penal colonies of course…

By: Los mejores libros sobre Internet, políticas tecnológicas e información de la década - yamilsalinas.net

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 15:23:53 +0000

[...] this topic.Impresionante entrada la que publica Adam Thierer en Technology Liberation Front sobre los libros más influyentes en políticas tecnológicas y de información de la década [...]

By: bethantuttle

bethantuttle — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 22:06:07 +0000

Not sure if they qualify as policy books, but Schneier's “Beyond Fear” and “Secrets and Lies” have a lot of very smart information for those who deal with privacy and security policies.

By: bethantuttle

bethantuttle — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 17:06:07 +0000

Not sure if they qualify as policy books, but Schneier's “Beyond Fear” and “Secrets and Lies” have a lot of very smart information for those who deal with privacy and security policies.

By: Adam Thierer

Adam Thierer — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 20:48:00 +0000

Thanks for flagging that mistake, Chris. And I will add the others. I apologize for failing to add your book originally. And I would love any additional suggestions you may have.

By: Chris Marsden

Chris Marsden — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 04:42:01 +0000

Apologies – you put Mueller in 2004, when the hardback was 2002.
For Castells, I might suggest his brief but very influential 'The Internet Galaxy' (2001) – not that many people read his great triple volume in the mid'90s, most used this instead…

By: Chris Marsden

Chris Marsden — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 04:24:06 +0000

Great idea - and the list is looking good for North America. European and other works would really leaven the bias here - not that the North American works aren't the most groundbreaking (they generally are).
Not just because I was editor, but how about 'Regulating the Global Information Society' (2000, Routledge), as much for the quality of US and European contributors and the classic Samuelson essay to finish.
Also - where is 'Ruling the Root' by Milton Mueller? Hugely influential.
As a reminder to history of standards: 'Inventing the Internet' by Janet Abbate (2000).

By: Adam Thierer

Adam Thierer — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 03:32:12 +0000

Thanks Dave, I will check it out!

By: Dave Heineman

Dave Heineman — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 20:05:12 +0000

I would like to mention “Pirates of the Digital Millennium” by John Gantz and Jack B. Rochester as an addition to the year 2005 list. I found it to be very readable and a very fair treatment of copyright. Especially good for people just getting into the subject.

By: Kevin Donovan

Kevin Donovan — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:39:59 +0000

FWIW, I think bloating this list does not make it less useful. As someone who remembers trying to dive into this subject matter a few years ago, finding reliable, respected writing was difficult. Lists like this, even long, can definitely help people in that same position.

By: Adam Thierer

Adam Thierer — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 22:27:21 +0000

Regardless of my personal feelings about Jim's book--I think it is outstanding, as I have pointed out here and in my past work--it perfectly defines the complexity of where to draw the line about "Internet & Information Technology" books. It certainly has some bearing on IT policy debates. In fact, I drew upon it when writing a couple of papers on why mandatory age verification for social networking sites was a misguided idea. But it's not clear that makes it a good fit for this list. Like other books on privacy and security (think Schnier's book), it is right on the borderline.

Then again, I do have two of Solove's privacy-related books on the list. However, if you've read them, you know that he really gets into the online privacy debates in a way Harper doesn't in "Identity Crisis."

Having said all that, I think I will add Jim's book to the list anyway! I've already started allowing far too many copyright and patent-related books to make the cut (ex: Landes & Posner's "Economic Structure of Intellectual Property Law" really doesn't belong on this list), so I might as well expand the pool of what qualifies from the privacy / identification side of things.

Problem is, the more liberal I get about what can make the cut, the more unwieldy, and less useful, this list becomes. I just don't know where to draw these lines.

By: Adam Thierer

Adam Thierer — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 22:17:54 +0000

Thanks Tim, I will make that change.

By: Jim Harper

Jim Harper — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 19:49:39 +0000

I love that book! But I don't think it's info/tech policy.

My next ID book will be!

By: Tim Lee

Tim Lee — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 19:32:59 +0000

Also, what about Harper's “Identity Crisis?”

By: Tim Lee

Tim Lee — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 19:28:07 +0000

Adam, Benkler's book was published in hardcover in 2006. Your link is to the 2007 paperback edition, but I think it counts as a 2006 book.

By: Dude, I Am Not Going to a Library | Tech Startups

Dude, I Am Not Going to a Library | Tech Startups — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 14:49:02 +0000

[...] Then you are in luck my nerd friend – the Technology Liberation Front has put together “The Digital Decade’s Definitive Reading List: Internet & Info-Tech Policy Books of the 200….” [...]

By: manglewurzle01

manglewurzle01 — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 02:45:36 +0000

I have read couple of books from the list above and so i am
interested in commenting on this topic. We can get some of
this books for free on the internet and some can be downloaded
and some are just read only.