Escape Velocity: Cyberculture at the End of the Century - Softcover

An Unforgettable Journey into the Dark Heart of the Information Age In Escape Velocity Mark Dery takes is on an electrifying tour of the high-tech subcultures that both celebrate and critique our wired world: would-be cyborgs who believe the body is obsolete and dream of downloading their minds into computers, cyber-hippies who boost their brainpower with smart drugs and mind machines, on-line swingers seeking cybersex on electronic bulletin boards, techno-primitives who sport "biomechanical" tattoos of computer circuitry; and cyberpunk roboticists whose Mad Max contraptions duel to the death before howling crowds. Timely, trenchant, and provocative, Escape Velocity is the first truly critical inquiry into cyberculture-essential reading for everyone interested in computer culture and the shape of things to come.

Taking readers on an unforgettable journey into the dark heart of the Information Age, cultural critic Mark Dery introduces them to a wide array of characters on the fringe of computer culture--underground robotocists, cybersex enthusiasts, virtual-reality designers and would-be cyborgs.