The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood Audiobook

" This is a fascinating history of information science. Numerous topics I haven't seen covered in a popular science work, including talking drums, non-electric telegraphs, and Shannon's information theory. "

" Very interesting and complex history of information theory, from drumbeats and cuneiform to the Internet. Not afraid to venture into the more technical and detailed aspects of history, which I admire. "

" This book was very long and had some extremely interesting sections, and a lot of less interesting sections. I think it could easily have been three standard-length books, one of which would be phenomenal, and the other two were mediocre and bad respectively. The final few chapters about information overload were very tedious, and probably didn't need to be written. I think this book is a must-read for anyone in software or an information-related field (academia, library science); I just wish the material in it was better edited and (at times) better written. "

" Eh. The information of science rather than the science of information. Well written, if rambling and not particularly groundbreaking. The most interesting part is the final sections where he shares some thoughts on the impact of the internet on communication. "

" One of the best books I've ever read. "

" I had to abandon this one. Just couldn't get into it. Too dense. "

" Some chapters much better than others, a mean average rating would be 3 but lost points for inconsistency. "

" This was one of those books I WANTED to like more than I liked. I find that James Gleick, while good at translating to average peeps like me, doesn't really hold my attention. I felt that way about Chaos too. but good. "

" Disappointing, especially compared to Gleick's other work. Obnoxious style, with way too many quotes (an unreadable number) and cutesy intros to chapters. Way too long. "

" Pretty interesting, it tracks the concept of information throughout the ages before it was even called information. Has some decent insights as to what the future holds for information. "

" I'm hard to bore, but you did it. You did it reeeaaaalll goooood. "

" As insightful as it is long, this book pretty much reshaped the way I think about information and communication. "

" The best book explaining information I've seen yet. Deeply researched and, as always with Gleick, a great read. "

" Not five stars as in perfect, but five stars as in “right up my alley.” "

" Not ideal before bed reading. But as grand narratives go, it rocked. "

" Not a lot of new stuff in this book, but the stories are put together in a way I have not seen before. The chapter on genetics as pure information was especially illuminating. "

" I'm putting this up there with Hofstader's Godel Escher Bach in terms of mind-blowingness. <br/> <br/>I think I'm going to go read all of his other books now. "

" I looked up and saw this book flying OVER MY HEAD! Not Gleick's fault, I'm just too dense to understand the number theory, the theoretical math, etc. At least I felt like I understood more of it than Godel, Escher &amp; Bach by Douglas Hofstadter! "