Subtitle: Haves and Have-Nots in the Information Age
Author: William Wresch
Subject: General Interest/Communications/Computer Science
Paperback ISBN 0-8135-2370-2
Pages: 272 pp.

"A first-rate piece of work. It is written well, with a distinctive voice, and Wresch wears his considerable learning lightly. Wresch's taxonomy of information is extremely useful and clarifying, but even more important is his ability to look at the 'information age' from the standpoint of the people and cultures not yet in it. I certainly recommend it."--Neil Postman, author of Amusing Ourselves to Death and Teaching As a Subversive Activity

"Wresch has sounded an alarm bell on the information superhighway. Focusing on information, rather than technology, he has passionately and persuasively argued that simply providing more technology will not solve, and may even exacerbate, the most troubling social problems and inequities of our era. This book is a 'must read' for any computer professional concerned about the impact of information technologies on society."---C. Dianne Martin, Chair of the ACM Special Interest Group on Computers and Society

In the Information Age, information is power. Who produces all that information, how does it move around, who uses it, to what ends, and under what constraints? Who gets that power? And what happens to the people who have no access to it?

Disconnected begins with a striking vignette of two men: One is the thriving manager of a company selling personal computers and computer services. The other is just one among thousands of starving laborers. He has no way to find the information that might help him find a job, he cannot afford newspapers, rarely sees television, cannot understand the dialect of local radio broadcasts, will probably never touch a computer. These two men happen to live in Windhoek, Namibia, but this is not a story about Africa--it is a story that could be repeated almost anywhere in the world, even next door.

With vivid anecdotes and data, William Wresch contrasts the opportunities of the information-rich with the limited prospects of the information-poor. Surveying the range of information--personal, public, organizational, commercial---that has become the currency of exchange in today's world, he shows how each represents a form of power. He analyzes the barriers that keep people information-poor: geography, tyranny, illiteracy, psychological blinders, "noise," crime. Technology alone, he demonstrates, is not the answer. Even the technology-rich do not always get access to important information--or recognize its value.

Wresch spells out the grim consequences of information inequity for individuals and society. Yet he ends with reasons for optimism and stories of people who are working to pull down the impediments to the flow of information.

William Wresch chairs the computing and mathematics department at the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point. He has published five books and software on using computers to teach effective writing. His experience as a Fulbright Fellow helping the new University of Namibia design its computer curriculum sparked this book. His essay on Africa and the Internet appeared in Internet World. Key Points