Scan barcode
A review by natebragg
Blood in the Machine by Brian Merchant
informative
slow-paced
4.25
A fairly dense yet interesting read on the history of the Luddites and the parallels between Industrial Revolution-era Britain and modern-day North America through the lens of the 19th-century Luddites and the 21st-century tech companies.
Merchant uses a unique premise to look at technology's impact on politics, labor, and industry, plus the ways that states have historically worked to support companies in clashes between corporations/entrepreneurs and the working class in both the past and present.
This book really made me think and taught me a lot about a part of history that I'm ashamed to say I knew little about. I recommend reading it if you enjoy history and tend to side with the working class in conflicts with the elites/those in power.
I'll be looking for more of Merchant's writing moving forward and continuing my trend of reading tech-focused non-fiction.
Merchant uses a unique premise to look at technology's impact on politics, labor, and industry, plus the ways that states have historically worked to support companies in clashes between corporations/entrepreneurs and the working class in both the past and present.
This book really made me think and taught me a lot about a part of history that I'm ashamed to say I knew little about. I recommend reading it if you enjoy history and tend to side with the working class in conflicts with the elites/those in power.
I'll be looking for more of Merchant's writing moving forward and continuing my trend of reading tech-focused non-fiction.