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Tue Nov 18 15:29:54 UTC 2008

Wikipedia, remix music and video mashups. peer production, open
science, open education, and open business. the world of digital media
has spawned a new "sharing economy" that increasingly competes with
entrenched media giants.

Reporting from the heart of this "free culture" movement, journalist
and activist David Bollier provides the first comprehensive history of
the attempt by a global brigade of techies, lawyers, artists,
musicians, scientists. businesspeople, innovators, and geeks of all
stripes to create a digital republic committed to freedom and
innovation. Viral Spiral=97the term Bollier coins to describe the almost
magical process by which Internet users can come together to build
online commons and tools-brilliantly interweaves the disparate strands
of this eclectic movement. The story describes major technological
developments and pivotal legal struggles, as well as fascinating
profiles of hacker Richard Stallman, copyright scholar Lawrence
Lessig, and other colorful figures.

A milestone in reporting on the Internet by one of our leading media
critics, Viral Spiral is for anyone seeking to take the full measure
of the new digital era.