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Magic and Loss: The Internet as Art Audiobook
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Publisher Description
Just as Susan Sontag did for photography and Marshall McLuhan did for television, Virginia Heffernan (called one of the “best living writers of English prose”) reveals the logic and aesthetics behind the Internet.
Since its inception, the Internet has morphed from merely an extension of traditional media into its own full-fledged civilization. It is among mankind’s great masterpieces—a massive work of art. As an idea, it rivals monotheism. We all inhabit this fascinating place. But its deep logic, its cultural potential, and its societal impact often elude us. In this deep and thoughtful book, Virginia Heffernan presents an original and far-reaching analysis of what the Internet is and does.
Life online, in the highly visual, social, portable, and global incarnation rewards certain virtues. The new medium favors speed, accuracy, wit, prolificacy, and versatility, and its form and functions are changing how we perceive, experience, and understand the world.
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“Candace Thaxton…balances the right amount of fascination and reflection through the deft use of tone, emphasis, and deliberation. She communicates the work in a way that…her confidence and energy allow listeners to trust in this curious romp through apps, games, ebooks, and the many other digital phenomena of our lives.”
— AudioFile
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“An illuminating guide to the Internet…sharing some of [Heffernan’s] awe for this brave new world.”
— Wall Street Journal -
“Saturated with observations that are simultaneously personal, cultural, and strikingly original—and she’s writing about software. I love it. Ultimately, the art here is her prose style.”
— New Republic -
“Marrying this study with her own fascinating personal history with the Internet as a pre-teen, Magic and Loss is a revealing look at how the internet continues to reshape our lives emotionally, visually and culturally.”
— Smithsonian magazine -
“My copy of Magic and Loss is sloppily scrawled with all-caps pencillings of words like ‘YES!’ and ‘TRUTH!’"
— Slate magazine -
“A thoroughly engrossing examination of the Internet’s past, present, and future.”
— Kirkus Reviews (starred review) -
“The best writing on Angry Birds you’ll ever encounter.”
— Wired
Awards
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A New York Times Editor’s Choice
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A Wired Magazine Pick for #1 Summer Beach Reads
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About Virginia Heffernan
Virginia Heffernan writes regularly about digital culture for the New York Times Magazine. In 2005, Heffernan (with cowriter Mike Albo) published the cult comic novel The Underminer. In 2002, she received her PhD in English Literature from Harvard.
About Virginia Heffernan
Candace Thaxton is an actress and audiobook narrator. She has starred in several films and television shows, including Ghost Town and Law & Order.