The Information Revolution is changing the world in myriad ways. But is it a change for the better? Will advances in computer technology strengthen democratic values or destroy them? Enhance personal freedom or enslave us? Contribute to the world's problems or help solve them?

Technomanifestos sets out to answer these questions by investigating the primary sources -- the seminal but seldom-read texts that form the philosophical foundation of the Digital Age. From artificial intelligence to nanotechnology, cybernetics to the World Wide Web, it charts a fascinating course through the history of ideas in the latter half of the twentieth century.

A science writer with a refreshingly humanistic point of view, Adam Brate brings his subject to life, exploring the professional triumphs and tragedies of such visionaries as Norbert Wiener, Doug Engelbart, Ted Nelson, Richard Stallman, and K. Eric Drexler. Far from being computer geeks, they emerge as a lively group of radical thinkers, deeply committed to civil liberties, personal empowerment, and participatory democracy.

With a sure hand and an eye for the telling detail, Brate illuminates the intersections of technology and society, computers and culture, information and meaning. And he deftly places technological advances into broader social and political contexts, tracing their impact on work, education, media, and law.