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Interesting Perspective from a Russian military scientist	Customer Rating:
Overall, a good book with some interesting corrolations of past cultural traditions that are influencing today's "new media" which we may not have been aware of.

provocative and smart

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Manovich's treatment of computer-media expressive forms is intelligent and entirely worthy of serious engagement. At crucial points, however, he makes leaps and grand assertions without proper demonstration. For example, he speaks of the database as an expressive form, and as the key computer-mediated form of our time. So, why not explain how in the world a database is expressive, or how it makes meaning? He says it is naturally opposed to narrative--they are "natural enemies"--but how precisely does database accomplish anything for anyone without narrative (or interpretation, which is closely related)? What is a database without narrative? I just don't see how he has shown what he asserts. At the same time, i think much of the virtue of this book is through its suggestions rather than its water-tight argumentation. That can make it a fertile reading experience, but frustrating all the same. Books like this one get people talking, even if they are wrong on a lot of points. We need people to be speculative and a bit "loose" like much of this book is, but one must be prepared to read it critically and with some caution.

Factually lazy

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Lev Manovich claims to have been trained in computer science. If he had any respect for the field, he would not have filled his book with deliberate misstatements about the nature of digital media. He uses these misstatements to fill out his narrative about the development of new media, and in doing so misinforms the "new media artists" he purports to educate. The writing is reflective of Manovich's speaking/lecturing style: factually lazy, fluffed up with pointlessly obtuse language, and above all else BORING. If you are an artist looking to understand the development of new media, look elsewhere, as you will only be bored and misinformed by Manovich. If you are a computer scientist looking for media theory, you will also be bored, but also possibly offended by the lazy treatment of your area of expertise.

Original and worth considering, Nailed Google 3 Years Early

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EDIT of 11 Dec 07: the release by Steve Arnold of "Google 2.0: The Calculating Predator," has sent shock waves among analysts who are slowly begining to understand thatGoogle's programmable search patents are the first step toward Google determining what you see depending on who pays them what. Google is now evil. Look for my book review on the above, the book itself costs $675 or so. All of the other reviewers are correct in the varied points, from praise for the substance to criticism for the tedious nature of some of the writing. My take-away from this book is two-fold: 1) The author spends most of his time focused on a variation of "the medium is the message" and how important it is to understand not only the medium, but the totalitarian uses to which the medium can be put. The book is strongest over-all in bringing to bear real-world experience that contrasts sharply with the US view of the Internet as all flowers and love and freedom. He clearly articulates the totalitarian opportunities. 2) What he does not focus on, although this is alluded to in the preface by Mark Tribe, is the human cost of going online to the detriment of face-to-face. I have a 13-year-old who would, given a choice, spend 24/7 online, with his cell phone glued to his ear, watching a TV with one eye. As Mark Tribe notes, museums and other gathering places are essential for creating a focused kind of face to face interactivity that is not yet possible online. An underlying sub-theme throughout the book is that reality and virtual reality are merging. We are moving toward a time when we will have a choice between opting for "authenticated" reality, or reveling in "constructed reality." One shudders to think of The Matrix, where all humans have become the ultimate couch potatoes, spending their lives immobile in a petri dish being fed "virtual reality" while their brainpower is sucked off for energy and other nefarious purposes. This is not an easy book to absorb, especially if you are not obsessed with the merger of cinematography and computers, but on balance, I am quite happy to have taken this in for its unique perspective.

a refreshing perspective

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Having waded through masses of literature by theorists with no practical background and a tendency to make mistakes like attributing Star Wars to Steven Spielberg, it is a delight to read a text that is grounded in both experience and solid rhetoric. Lev Manovich writes with clarity, wit and provocative insight - a rare and enjoyable experience for anyone doing serious research in this area. This review is based on the MIT Press version of the text.