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The Soft Edge: A Natural History and Future of the Information Revolution Levinson, P. Routledge 1997 218 pages ISBN 0 415 15785 4 L16.99
Keywords Communications, Information, Media, Technology
This is a saga of communication media inventions and their unforeseen consequences, with more than a few surprises. Asimov, Hitler, Aristophanes, and Clinton are just a few characters who make appearances, as do HAL (from 2001: A Space Odyssey), Freud, and Frankenstein. In the footsteps of Marshall McLuhan, Levinson presents his own assessment of the human ecology of communication and the effects of communication media.
Levinson, he confesses, sees things differently, so he takes us through a journey of challenges to contemporary thinking about media. Some of his views are controversial, critical counters to some respected writers such as Postman, Ellul, and Mumford-- Levinson counters several scholarly attacks...