From Gutenberg to Google: The History of Our Future

The advent of the Internet age has been an earth-shattering paradigm shift. It has changed everything. Business, communication, friendship, information…even the government is not immune to the influence of the Internet revolution. But you may be surprised to know that there were other invention-based social upheavals in our past that were just as remarkable, and just as turbulent.

From Gutenberg to Google discusses three great social revolutions from over the centuries–one instigated by the printing press, another by the train, a third by telegraph/telephone–exploring the incredible, expansive ways that a single invention changed history and society. By doing so, the current social revolution caused by the Internet’s ubiquity not only falls into place but helps the reader to understand why these seismic shifts occur, thereby better understanding how to navigate these intimidating changes.

Former chairman of the FCC (and suspected dingo) Tom Wheeler manages to compress centuries of history into easily-digestible narrative threads, weaving anecdotes and historical trends with ease. He confronts massive change with a detached view, granting an air of inevitability to these proceedings that make you feel separate from these events, not like you’re currently living through them.

It’s a curious experience, like reading a history textbook about the modern day. But it’s a worthwhile one.