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Aleks Krotoski's Top Book Recommendations

Want to know what books Aleks Krotoski recommends on their reading list? We've researched interviews, social media posts, podcasts, and articles to build a comprehensive list of Aleks Krotoski's favorite book recommendations of all time.

1
Recommended by Aleks Krotoski, Rosamund McDougall, and 2 others.

Aleks KrotoskiWatts has been looking at the small world phenomenon to identify whether the web itself has shrunk our world, and in fact it hasn’t. (Source)

Rosamund McDougallIt’s a very fast-moving explicit scenario about what might happen on earth to all of us, with each degree of global warming temperature rise. (Source)

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2

Life on the Screen

"Life on the Screen" is a book not about computers, but about people and how computers are causing us to reevaluate our identities in the age of the Internet. We are using life on the screen to engage in new ways of thinking about evolution, relationships, politics, sex, and the self. "Life on the Screen" traces a set of boundary negotiations, telling the story of the changing impact of the computer on our psychological lives and our evolving ideas about minds, bodies, and machines. What is emerging, Turkle says, is a new sense of identity-- as decentered and multiple. She describes trends in... more
Recommended by Lev Grossman, Aleks Krotoski, and 2 others.

Lev GrossmanTurkle is a brilliant observer of the online world, and what makes the Net incredibly interesting is that it was never intended to be a social medium. (Source)

Aleks KrotoskiOne of the first academic and one of the first popular and accessible looks at how the web is transforming who we are, and how we view ourselves. (Source)

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3

Neuromancer

A deluxe hardcover edition of the pioneering cyberpunk novel that predicted our obsession with the Internet—part of Penguin Galaxy, a collectible series of six sci-fi/fantasy classics, featuring a series introduction by Neil Gaiman.

Before the Internet was commonplace, William Gibson showed us the Matrix—a world within the world, the representation of every byte of data in cyberspace. Henry Dorsett Case was the sharpest data-thief in the Matrix, until an ex-employer crippled his nervous system. Now a new employer has recruited him for a last-chance run against an unthinkably...
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Adam Savage[This series] changed my life. (Source)

Mark Pitcavage@jamesjhare Neuromancer is a fascinating book--but it was especially fascinating when it was first published; it was mind-blowing. (Source)

Pia Mancini@Fede_Bada amazing book (Source)

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4
Being a true account of the infamous Mr. Bungle and of the author's journey, in consequence thereof, to the heart of a half-real world called LambdaMoo.

From In Cold Blood to Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, readers have been gripped by the novelistic rering of eccentric communities torn apart by violent crime.

Julian Dibbell's reporting of the "Mr. Bungle" rape case first appeared as the cover story in The Village Voice. Since that time it has become a cause célèbre, cited as a landmark case in numerous books and articles and a source of less discussion on the...
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Recommended by Bret Victor, Aleks Krotoski, and 2 others.

Aleks KrotoskiIt documents how this idealistic society moved from being this utopian ideal into an environment in which people decided that they needed regulations. (Source)

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5

Snow Crash

In the near future, Americans excel at only two things: writing software and delivering pizza in less than 30 minutes.

Franchises line the Los Angeles freeway as far as the eye can see: Reverend Wayne's Pearly Gates, Mr. Lee's Greater Hong Kong, Uncle Enzo's CosaNostra Pizza, Incorporated. The only relief from the sea of logos is within the well-guarded borders of the autonomous city-states that law-abiding citizens are afraid to leave. Is it any wonder that most sane folks have chosen to live in a computer-generated universe? Here in virtual reality is a domain of pleasures...
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Sergey BrinBrin said he is a big sci-fi fan, and Stephenson's acclaimed 1992 novel "Snow Crash" is one of his favorites. The book "was really 10 years ahead of its time," Brin said. "It kind of anticipated what's going to happen, and I find that really interesting." (Source)

Adam SavageIt's a tough call because I prefer other books of [this author]. But [this book] is so important within the history of science fiction. (Source)

Marvin LiaoMy list would be (besides the ones I mentioned in answer to the previous question) both business & Fiction/Sci-Fi and ones I personally found helpful to myself. The business books explain just exactly how business, work & investing are in reality & how to think properly & differentiate yourself. On the non-business side, a mix of History & classic fiction to understand people, philosophy to make... (Source)

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