William Wresch

Disconnected: Haves and Have-nots in the Information Age William Wresch

Marc Notes: Avail. in cloth at $55.00 Cuba, and the U. S. Publisher Marketing: In the Information Age, information is power. Who produces all that information, how does it move around, who uses it, to what ends, and under what constraints? Who gets that power? And what happens to the people who have no access to it? With vivid anecdotes and data, William Wresch contrasts the opportunities of the information-rich with the limited prospects of the information-poor. Surveying the range of information - personal, public, organizational, commercial - that has become the currency of exchange in today's world, he shows how each represents a form of power. He analyzes the barriers that keep people information-poor: geography, tyranny, illiteracy, psychological blinders, "noise, " crime. Technology alone, he demonstrates, is not the answer. Even the technology-rich do not always get access to important information - or recognize its value. Wresch spells out the grim consequences of information inequity for individuals and society. Yet he ends with reasons for optimism and stories of people who are working to pull down the impediments to the flow of information. Publisher Marketing: Contrasting the lives of two men, this work examines those that have access to information and those that do not. It surveys the range of information and analyzes the barriers that keep people information poor: geography, tyranny, illiteracy, and psychological blinders. Review Citations: Library Journal 09/01/1996 pg. 200 (EAN 9780813523705, Paperback) Publishers Weekly 09/23/1996 pg. 72 (EAN 9780813523705, Paperback) Library Journal 09/01/1996 pg. 200 (EAN 9780813523699, Hardcover) Publishers Weekly 09/23/1996 pg. 72 (EAN 9780813523699, Hardcover)