The Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires - Hardcover

'The Master Switch is brilliant... a must read for those who want to know more about the future of the Internet' Josh Silverman, CEO, Skype 'Magisterial - Wu is a wonk, a Silicon Valley princeling and a professor at Columbia University. He will, in short, be heard and rightly so. The future of the media, specifically the internet, lies at the heart of our liberal democratic destinies. A battle is now being fought between those who aspire to maintain net freedom and those who call for regulation or seek commercial control. Wu's sharp analysis and eye for a good story will impress any thoughtful legislator. If new media laws are to be made, this book will be a key document.' Bryan Appleyard in the Sunday Times

The Internet Age: on the face of it, an era of unprecedented freedom in both communication and culture. Yet in the past, each major new medium, from telephone to satellite television, has crested on a wave of similar idealistic optimism, before succumbing to the inevitable undertow of industrial consolidation. Every once free and open technology has, in time, become centralized and closed; as corporate power has taken control of the 'master switch.' Today a similar struggle looms over the Internet, and as it increasingly supersedes all other media the stakes have never been higher. Part industrial expose, part examination of freedom of expression, The Master Switch reveals a crucial drama - full of indelible characters - as it has played out over decades in the shadows of global communication.