The Internet Galaxy

A very readable and stimulating book. * Professor Laurie Taylor, BBC Radio 4 'Thinking Allowed' *
[An] excellent, readable, nontechnical summary of the history, social implications and likely future of Internet business. * Publishers Weekly, 12 Nov. 01 *
. . . a superb guide to the workings of the internet and its wider implications. . . . [Castells] brings a sociologist's understanding of the importance of culture in business to his analysis of the internet. . . . stands supreme as a wise and insightful guide to the web. * Management Today, November 01 (UK) *
The Internet is shaping society and in turn being shaped by society. It takes a scholar of Manuel Castells's range to do justice to this phenomenon. His book is learned without being pompous, and insightful without being impenetrable. If we ever get a discipline of Internet studies, this will be one of its founding texts. * John Naughton, author of 'A Brief History of the Future: The Origins of the Internet' *
Manuel Castells has proved once again that he has an unmatched synoptic capacity to make sense of the complexities of a networked world, and here writes with clarity and insight about everything from the history of the technology to the subcultures that have done so much to shape it. * Geoff Mulgan, author of 'Communication and Control' and 'Connexity'; Head of the Prime Minister's Forward Strategy Unit *
Castells is probably the world's most highly regarded commentator on the information age and new economic order. * Management Today: Guru Guide, October 2001 *
. . . a readable, articulate and persuasive account of why the internet's most powerful impacts on the shape of business, politics and society may be yet to come. * Charles Leadbeater, Financial Times, 04/12/01 *
Thoroughly researched ... [and] truly global in scope. Castells provides balanced coverage of e-business and the new economy; the politics of the Internet, including privacy and freedom; and the geography of the Internet....Highly recommended for academic libraries. * Library Journal, Nov 01 *
Absorbing history....Castells observes that while the Internet has the potential to strengthen democracy through broadening the sources of information and enabling greater citizenship participation, it has at the same time contributed greatly to the politics of scandal.... In his sobering final chapter, the author studies the divide between peoples and regions that operate in the digital world and those that cannot. * Kirkus Review *
The Internet Galaxy is the best attempt by a big thinker to grapple with the net's long-term implications for our society. * New Statesman, 14/01/02 *
This small but complete volume is a critical introduction to internet-related theories, while doubling as a simplified reader on [Castells'] own ideas. The book should help to spread his influence beyond the faithful. * Prospect, 02/2002 *