Who Owns The Future? is the new masterwork from the prophet of the digital age Jaron Lanier author of You Are Not A Gadget. In the past a revolution in production such as the industrial revolution generally increased the wealth & freedom of people. The digital revolution we are living through is different. Instead of leaving a greater number of us in excellent financial health the effect of digital technologies
- & the companies behind them
- is to concentrate wealth reduce growth & challenge the livelihoods of an ever-increasing number of people. As the protections of the middle class disappear washed away by crises in capitalism what is being left in their place? & what else could replace them? Why is this happening & what might we do about it? In Who Owns the Future? Jaron Lanier shows how the new power paradigm operates how it is conceived & controlled & why it is leading to a collapse in living standards. Arguing that the 'information economy' ruins markets he reminds us that markets should reward more people not fewer. He shows us why the digital revolution means more corporations making money & avoiding risk by hiding value off their books which means more financial risk for the rest of us. From the inner workings of the 'sirenic servers' at the heart of the new power system to an exploration of the meaning of mass unemployment events the misuse of big data & the deep & increasing erasure of human endeavour Lanier explores the effects of this situation on democracy & individuals & proposes a more human humane reality where risk & reward is shared equally & the digital revolution creates opportunity for all. Lanier has a poet's sensibility & his book reads like a hallucinogenic reverie full of entertaining haiku
- like observations & digressions". (James Harkin Financial Times). " One of the triumphs of Lanier's intelligent & subtle book is its inspiring portrait of the kind of people that a democratic information economy would produce. His vision implies that if we are allowed to lead absorbing properly remunerated lives we will likewise outgrow our addiction to consumerism & technology". (Laurence Scott Guardian). " Jaron Lanier is a digital visionary with a difference". (John Kampfner Observer). Jaron Lanier is a philosopher & computer scientist who has spent his career pushing the transformative power of modern technology to its limits. From coining the term ' Virtual Reality' to developing cutting-edge medical imaging & surgical techniques Lanier is one of the premier designers & engineers at work today & is linked with UC Berkeley & Microsoft. A musician with a collection of over 700 instruments he has been recognised by Encyclopedia Britannica (but certainly not Wikipedia) as one of history's 300 or so greatest inventors & named one of the top one hundred public intellectuals in the world by Prospect & Foreign Policy. His first book You Are Not A Gadget was hailed as a 'poetic & prophetic' defence of the human in an age of machines."


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Its 1999. The SAS have been sent to the jungle of Sierra Leone to rescue a group of British soldiers taken hostage by the notorious West Side Boys. Captain Christian Mc Kie leads an advanced four-man patrol into position ready to call in the main strike force at a moments notice. But all is not as it seems; betrayal & greed are deadly enemies. Christian is captured & held hostage his will to survive only eclipsed by his desire for revenge. ...

Ever wondered where Caesar Salad comes from? Who was Benedict & whats he got to do with combining poached eggs with ham & hollandaise sauce? In this fascinating journey into culinary history James Winter provides the answers to these questions & explores the origins of classic dishes from around the world. Who came up with them? When & what inspired them to combine certain ingredients? & why have they endured to become classics that we turn to again & again? With a total of 50 recipes including Battenberg Cake Peach Melba Sole Veronique Chicken Kiev & Bloody Mary James covers mains desserts & even drinks. Including the quintessential version of each recipe plus hints & tips from top chefs this book will inform & inspire in equal measure. ...

On 13 September 2007 Robert Peston broke the news that Northern Rock had become a victim of the global credit crunch & was seeking an emergency loan from the Bank of Engl&. It was the latest in a long line of scoops by this award-winning journalist. Over the weeks that followed the Government found itself exposed to the Rock to the tune of 57 billion or almost ?2000 for every taxpayer. As Robert Peston shows in his fascinating new book the seeds for the collapse of Northern Rock & the upheavals in the financial markets were sown years before. WHO RUNS BRITAIN? is the first time anyone has drawn all the threads together to weave a story that's rich in extraordinary characters & outrageous feats of economic bravado. This book is about the widening gap between the super-rich & the rest of us. It explores & explodes the myth that the financial creativity of those who are amassing these vast fortunes is good for the wider economy & for all of us. Whether you're a financial expert or just have a bank account WHO RUNS BRITAIN? is a book you must read. ...

Who sank the boat? Was it the cow or the donkey or the sheep with her knitting? Surely it wasnt the tiny little mouse? Winner of the 1983 Australian Picture Book of the Year Award this wonderfully illustrated book is designed for sharing aloud & will make children giggle as they guess which animal spoilt a days rowing by sinking the boat. ...

Where was the first World Cup held? A Argentina B France C Uruguay D The Netherlands Here's the ultimate challenge for all football fans & armchair contestants. If you think you could compete with the contestants who sit in the famous Who Wants to be a Millionaire? hot-seat then this is the quiz book for you. Packed with 1 000 brain teasing questions about UK European & international football created by the Who Wants to be a Millionaire? question masters this is the ultimate quiz book for any football fan. This World Cup find out if you really know your football by playing Who Wants to be a Football Millionaire? ...

Trixie Twinkle Toes doesn't want a maid to plump her cushions. She wants to roll in the mud & paddle in the puddles. She doesn't want to be carried over them by a butler. Trixie Twinkle Toes may look like a prancing poodley poodle. But on the the inside she's a dazzlingly daring dog ready to make a big splash... This stunning book from the award-winning international star & creator of Charlie & Lola Lauren Child is now available for the first time in paperback. ...

Alex Hurricane Higgins transcended sport in a way very few sportsmen ever have. In this definitive biography Tony Francis describes how Alex threw himself into life like a man throwing himself off a cliff. No safety net. No plan. No fear. No shame. Francis interviews more than sixty witnesses to this extraordinary life & comes up with a remarkable series of adventures to surprise even Alexs staunchest fans. We hear from his ex-wife Lynn who tolerated him for ten years helped him recover from a suicide attempt watched him trash the house but still has a fondness for the father of her kids. Snooker champion Jimmy White Alexs best friend says: I loved him I hated him I loved him I hated him! The author investigates the Irish drink culture which undermined his family colleagues & of course Higgins himself. How did Higgins fellow Irish sportsman & biggest fan Barry Mc Guigan escape the excesses which dragged Higgins & George Best into the gutter? Did drink account for Higgins wild outbursts or was there something more to it? Why did his lost love describe the man who once head-butted a tournament official as the gentlest man I ever met? For all his faults Higgins was for a time the most loved sportsman in Britain. He remains a legend & the most outstanding charismatic snooker player who ever walked into an arena. Francis traces his crazy life from the time when as a baby he was kept in a shoe box in his mothers top drawer to the sheltered accommodation in Sandy Row Belfast where died. If you want to know what kind of man could mesmerise & terrorise his way to the top; be acclaimed by millions one moment & literally thrown out of a pub the next; die in pitiful isolation yet be celebrated by thousands lining the streets in what amounted to a state funeral then Who Was Hurricane Higgins? is a must-read. ...

Who Will Comfort Toffle? A tale of Moomin Valley sees Toffle driven from his home by the frightening noises of the forest. Too shy at first to approach the many colourful Moomin characters he passes along the way he gains confidence by discovering a scared & lonely Miffle who needs his help. Toffles quest to save Miffle from the dreadful Groke is an inspiring tale that every child (and many adults) are sure to identify with. ...

Christine Bryden was 46 when she was diagnosed with dementia & in this book she recounts the emotional & spiritual rollercoaster she found herself on immediately afterwards. It provides unique first-hand insights into how it feels to gradually lose the ability to undertake tasks most of us take for granted & is all the more remarkable because of Christines unwavering positivity & her deep sense that in spite of the dementia her life continues to have purpose & meaning. Originally published in Australia in 1998 the book

Includes:: a new Preface a contribution from one of Christines former colleagues & a new appendix in which Christine explains how the disease has progressed & how she is now. It also contains many not-before seen photographs of Christine & her family from around the time of her diagnosis up to the present day. The prequel to Dancing with Dementia" this book will be of interest to people with dementia & their families friends & carers as well as to dementia care professionals."

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