150-WORD REVIEW: To Save Everything, Click Here by Evgeny Morosov

To Save EverythingI am occasionally guilty of being slack jawed when it comes to technological advancement. We’re constantly presented with Ted Talks, books and articles which lionise the tech industry as being the source of solutions for everything from healthcare to education and politics to death.

For every ying of utopian thinking, there needs to be a yang of realism and occasional cynicism. That is what Evgeny Morosov presents in his latest book. He dissects topics ranging from social media’s role in the Arab Spring to the quantified self movement – criticisng what he sees as “techno-solutionism” and “cyber-utopianism”.

You might not agree any of much of what he says (many won’t agree with any of it), but you owe it to yourself to at least read some of the counter-arguments that are out there. Read it. I guarantee it will give you pause for thought.

150-WORD REVIEW: Trust Me, I’m Lying by Ryan Holiday

Book Cover

Some people don’t like Ryan Holiday. If you read the reviews of Trust Me, I’m Lying on Amazon, you’ll see what I mean. I’m not one of those people. This was a fantastically entertaining read about Holiday’s exploits on behalf of his clients.

The blurb on the book’s cover suggests it’s a playbook for the dark arts of exploiting the media, and while that might be a touch hyperbolic, there is no shortage of material in the book to give you ideas on how to seed stories, create a buzz and generally play the game in terms of blogs and news outlets.

Holiday is a really good writer. The book is easy to read. Even if you’re not entirely interested in the subject matter, you’ll definitely get a laugh or two out of some of the stunts he’s pulled. Trust me. I’m not lying.