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A review by goldfishlaser
Blockchain Revolution: How the Technology Behind Bitcoin Is Changing Money, Business, and the World by Don Tapscott, Alex Tapscott
4.0
Overall, a book I recommend. But... to enthusiasts or open-minded people, and not necessarily to skeptics.
There is so much valuable and accurate information in here that is not widely available, and judging by the comments of the public, unknown to them, and only the tiniest bit of it is out of date as I read in mid-December 2017. It starts out very strong. Personally, I read this book with my browser window open, and was able to go on many adventures and rabbit holes on the topics and key words that peaked my interest.
At times, the book did wander into speculation, without acknowledging potential detractions. A person could easily be spooked into thinking this book is leading the unwitting down the path to a Black-mirroresque catastrophic future. Especially if the reader doesn't make it to the final chapters, where the "show-stoppers" are finally introduced. It seemed sometimes that if the author wasn't breathlessly spouting out so much information, that some of the ideas could have received a more in depth and even-handed look. For example, when the author starts discussing how the blockchain could bring the controversial policy of cap-and-trade to come to bear on the lives of individuals, I couldn't help but laugh aloud at the absurdity... and perhaps feel a little nervous about the future that I normally endorse. I can understand for this reason why some were irritated with the book and rated it poorly. However, I felt that I shouldn't do so. If I'm rating at less than 4 stars, that would mean that I don't recommend anyone reading the book. I wouldn't go that far!
If I never read books where authors deviated from my view of how things should be written and discussed, I'd not read many books at all. Also, it is worth noting that this book never promised a technical or critical view. I learned a great deal from it, and its a great who's who of leading thinkers, projects, and histories. If you're looking for a firehose of info on the blockchain- you'll get it here.
Probably best to take breaks from reading it now and then, or picking out the chapters on the topics that you're more interested in, and doing your own research from there. The chapters can be read stand-alone, because even if someone or something has already been discussed, they are always reintroduced. The footnotes in the back are great for taking a deeper dive as well. If you want the technical details of bitcoin, I recommend Coursera's course on bitcoin and cryptocurrency by Princeton University.
There is so much valuable and accurate information in here that is not widely available, and judging by the comments of the public, unknown to them, and only the tiniest bit of it is out of date as I read in mid-December 2017. It starts out very strong. Personally, I read this book with my browser window open, and was able to go on many adventures and rabbit holes on the topics and key words that peaked my interest.
At times, the book did wander into speculation, without acknowledging potential detractions. A person could easily be spooked into thinking this book is leading the unwitting down the path to a Black-mirroresque catastrophic future. Especially if the reader doesn't make it to the final chapters, where the "show-stoppers" are finally introduced. It seemed sometimes that if the author wasn't breathlessly spouting out so much information, that some of the ideas could have received a more in depth and even-handed look. For example, when the author starts discussing how the blockchain could bring the controversial policy of cap-and-trade to come to bear on the lives of individuals, I couldn't help but laugh aloud at the absurdity... and perhaps feel a little nervous about the future that I normally endorse. I can understand for this reason why some were irritated with the book and rated it poorly. However, I felt that I shouldn't do so. If I'm rating at less than 4 stars, that would mean that I don't recommend anyone reading the book. I wouldn't go that far!
If I never read books where authors deviated from my view of how things should be written and discussed, I'd not read many books at all. Also, it is worth noting that this book never promised a technical or critical view. I learned a great deal from it, and its a great who's who of leading thinkers, projects, and histories. If you're looking for a firehose of info on the blockchain- you'll get it here.
Probably best to take breaks from reading it now and then, or picking out the chapters on the topics that you're more interested in, and doing your own research from there. The chapters can be read stand-alone, because even if someone or something has already been discussed, they are always reintroduced. The footnotes in the back are great for taking a deeper dive as well. If you want the technical details of bitcoin, I recommend Coursera's course on bitcoin and cryptocurrency by Princeton University.