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benrogerswpg's review against another edition
4.0
At Any Cost
This was a very good book on the rich, internet, and legislation / politics.
It was quite a fascinating and somewhat shocking-at-times read.
It reminded me a lot of the book [b:Internet for the People|58952557|Internet for the People|Ben Tarnoff|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1631133784l/58952557._SY75_.jpg|92910267], and I would recommend reading them together - they compliment each other very well.
Rushkoff is an excellent writer, it was well researched and an accessible & readable book.
Would recommend
4.6/5
This was a very good book on the rich, internet, and legislation / politics.
It was quite a fascinating and somewhat shocking-at-times read.
It reminded me a lot of the book [b:Internet for the People|58952557|Internet for the People|Ben Tarnoff|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1631133784l/58952557._SY75_.jpg|92910267], and I would recommend reading them together - they compliment each other very well.
Rushkoff is an excellent writer, it was well researched and an accessible & readable book.
Would recommend
4.6/5
storytold's review against another edition
3.75
Great illustration of how wealth produces a politics concerned primarily with isolation from the actual world and psychological & financial investments in ways of circumventing that world. I think this book lays needed groundwork for reminding us that billionaires aren't especially the Great Men their constructed narrations would suggest and are increasingly investing in speculation and outright fiction, with increasing disregard for the actual, material circumstances of even their own lives. Highly readable; narration sometimes self-important, but book makes strong points in every chapter that I expect I'll revisit.
sallysimo's review against another edition
4.0
This is for everyone who is always annoyed at "techbros" (big and small) but cannot quite put their finger on what just makes them sound so obnoxious.
Rushkoff presents the ideological framework of techbros (aka The Mindset) and how it is connected to capitalism, colonialism, and empiricism. A big part of the book is actually a larger critique of growth-oriented economies, but since this is part and parcel of The Mindset, that is fair enough. Rushkoff mentions he's a Marxist on one of the first pages - so I'm a bit bewildered why people criticise the book for "digressing" - the author simply explains the underlying assumptions of The Mindset. I actually found this structural approach the most appealing feature of this book.
I do agree that the title is a bit misleading. The escape fantasies of billionaires are the hook for the author to explain what drives these fantasies (it's The Mindset). When you read the book under this theme, it shows how The Mindset is present in everything mainstream tech and why tech billionaires see humanity as a problem to be solved - or to escape from. I guess Rushkoff needed a snappy title, and calling it The Mindset would have been a bit misleading since then it gives the impression of a self-help book for wannabe tech billionaires.
Overall, a balanced analysis and surely helpful when you get that icky feeling while hearing for the millionth time how this new technological innovation will surely save us all.
Rushkoff presents the ideological framework of techbros (aka The Mindset) and how it is connected to capitalism, colonialism, and empiricism. A big part of the book is actually a larger critique of growth-oriented economies, but since this is part and parcel of The Mindset, that is fair enough. Rushkoff mentions he's a Marxist on one of the first pages - so I'm a bit bewildered why people criticise the book for "digressing" - the author simply explains the underlying assumptions of The Mindset. I actually found this structural approach the most appealing feature of this book.
I do agree that the title is a bit misleading. The escape fantasies of billionaires are the hook for the author to explain what drives these fantasies (it's The Mindset). When you read the book under this theme, it shows how The Mindset is present in everything mainstream tech and why tech billionaires see humanity as a problem to be solved - or to escape from. I guess Rushkoff needed a snappy title, and calling it The Mindset would have been a bit misleading since then it gives the impression of a self-help book for wannabe tech billionaires.
Overall, a balanced analysis and surely helpful when you get that icky feeling while hearing for the millionth time how this new technological innovation will surely save us all.
markmywurd's review
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
At times really interesting but at times just lots of words to say the same things. I would have liked the book to contain more than anecdotes for supporting it's positions.