- Hardcover: 288 pages
- Publisher: Kogan Page (Nov 1 2002)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0749431512
- ISBN-13: 978-0749431518
- Product Dimensions: 24.2 x 16.2 x 2.3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 562 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #2,318,330 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Product Description
Review
"The New Barbarian Manifesto is a highly readable, hugely enjoyable hi-tech version of The Decline of the West." -- Guardian
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Book Description
Technology and the Information Age have been hailed as the great liberators -- genies that will free us all from enslavement to mundane chores and the daily grind, and empower all those that are computer literate. Not so, according to Ian Angell, dubbed "The Angell of Doom" by The London Times.
Angell claims that information technology is breeding a new society of "barbarians" that will overrun social, economic and even geographical borders in a "winner take all" fight for wealth and power. He asserts that the world after the information revolution will be one in which a gifted few control corporations that move factories around the globe in search of the lowest wages.
Angell's view is apocalyptic -- poverty for the many and ungoverned wealth and opulence for the few. This elite will be a new class of robber barons without-a-country, paying no taxes and having no allegiances except wealth and power. Only those with the knowledge and power to guide the information revolution will prosper, leaving the manual labor to production workers or more efficient robots. Angell's only hope in fighting this dark force is the U.S.A.
No one else has addressed the downside of the new technology and in this thought provoking new book, the author offers eye-opening evidence that all is not well in the Information Age.
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Academic derivative work that reads like a potboiler!,
By A_2007_reader (Vladivostok, Russia) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The New Barbarian Manifesto: How to Survive the Information Age (Paperback)
This is a very cool book because the synthesis is done by a academian who writes like a potboiler novelist! The paragraphs are shock full of references to deep philosophical and academic treatises, but done in an entertaining manner. Every paragraph is like poetry. Excellent derivative work.In a nutshell, the author is taking a theme first exposed by Alvin Toffler "Future Shock" "Third Wave" and developing it further to synthesize the way the world's economies have performed in the last 20 years. Outstanding! Don't be put off by the seeming "facist" or "harsh" tone of some of this writing--the author is tell you how it is, not how it should be--hence the term "barbarian" in the title. The old guard will attempt to smooth over raw, naked capitalism but in the opinion of the author it will be a losing battle (I'm not so sure, since I believe most old people, having been raised by the Welfare State, will never go quietly, so it will take another generation or two to renounce the Nanny Welfare State. I give it four stars not five because the opinions are thrown out without much argument or development. It is a derivative work where you have to understand some background first. So it's not really a beginner's book.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
3.5 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews) 25 of 31 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A provocative view of the Dark Side of the New Economy,
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The New Barbarian Manifesto: How to Survive the Information Age (Hardcover)
Angell's work is really very good, even if the author is sometimes too heavy handed. I saw him on the BBC and he admitted that his book was aimed at stirring the pot. He does that, no doubt. Rather than the glib views of how IT will change our world, Angell suggests that IT and technological change may well have some very serious and unforeseen consequences. It is a must read for all those who blithely toss around the term e-commerce. Read this and get another view!
19 of 26 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
The business-end of a crowbar,
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The New Barbarian Manifesto: How to Survive the Information Age (Hardcover)
Ever see the film "Falling Down" with Michael Douglas? Well, after a long and frustrating struggle with rank-and-file academics and bureaucrats, Ian has finally taken an intellectual crowbar to post-war socialist greenhouse.This is not a pretty book; it is slash and burn. It represents the blinding rage of a generation who suffered in silence as Winston Smith and Joseph K. were digested by early virulent strains of political correctness. So, beware, this book is deeply offensive to lawyers and politicians and all the other anti-conceptual drones who have nested in the post-war socialist paradigm. What gives this book its power is the changing nature of the global political economy. Here we are dealing with facts - as hard and cold as the steel rails on which the Industrial Revolution was built. Remember those poor sods who attended the Congress of Vienna in 1815? What? The end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire? Haw, haw, haw. Steam engines powering ships? Hee, hee, hee. A new economy? Ho, ho, ho. The collapse of the Russian, French, and British empires? Tears of laughter. Airplanes? Oh, please no more! I myself do not necessarily agree with all Ian's arguments, but there is no doubt that he has drawn a true note from his violin. I do believe that Rome will indeed burn again. What will rise from the ashes is what Ian seeks to explore. 6 of 8 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Academic derivative work that reads like a potboiler!,
By A_2007_reader - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The New Barbarian Manifesto: How to Survive the Information Age (Paperback)
This is a very cool book because the synthesis is done by a academian who writes like a potboiler novelist! The paragraphs are shock full of references to deep philosophical and academic treatises, but done in an entertaining manner. Every paragraph is like poetry. Excellent derivative work.In a nutshell, the author is taking a theme first exposed by Alvin Toffler "Future Shock" "Third Wave" and developing it further to synthesize the way the world's economies have performed in the last 20 years. Outstanding! Don't be put off by the seeming "facist" or "harsh" tone of some of this writing--the author is tell you how it is, not how it should be--hence the term "barbarian" in the title. The old guard will attempt to smooth over raw, naked capitalism but in the opinion of the author it will be a losing battle (I'm not so sure, since I believe most old people, having been raised by the Welfare State, will never go quietly, so it will take another generation or two to renounce the Nanny Welfare State. I give it four stars not five because the opinions are thrown out without much argument or development. It is a derivative work where you have to understand some background first. So it's not really a beginner's book. |
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