| "Leading experts" here range from executives at well-known Internet brands to futurist Alvin Toffler to ubiquitous cyber-commentator Esther Dyson. No new names, then, and no real surprises. Sikes and Pearlman divide these interviews, conducted in the spring and summer of 1999, into topical sections, creating the appearance of a conversation on the Internet's impact on education, health, careers, consumerism, etc. Each of the contributors waxes enthusiastic over the power of the Internet to change lives while throwing in plugs for his or her respective company. Some mention the need for the critical evaluation of online information or the digital divide between the rich and the poor, but this barely slows their momentum. The suggested sites at the end of each topical section tend toward large names; many chapters even list the "most popular" sites on the subject. The inclusion of several predictions about the Internet "by the end of the year 2000" will date the material fairly quickly. These interviews might serve as articles for Internet novices, but in a book they fail either to provide new insights or to create a convincing narrative. Not recommended. |
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