The editor of The New York Times Book Review elegizes bygone technologies and customs from the kitchen telephone to the school librarian in this nostalgic reminiscence on the analog era.
From the very first entry...we hit the ground running ... A lot of these entries might read as minor, but others are reflective of broader changes ... On and on the list goes, with every minor shift adding to the pile. What 100 Things We’ve Lost to the Internet does so well is illustrate the growth of that pile; while any individual item might be no big deal, the collected set is significant. It’s a list of ways in which the world now is different from the world then—no small thing when dealing with a culture as susceptible to nostalgia as our own ... a fun read for those of us who share some of Paul’s memories and experiences. We remember what it was like and we like to remember. The landscape has shifted, and no doubt it will shift again as technology’s exponential advancement continues on apace. This book serves as a reminder of the simple truth that when gains are made, sometimes something is lost.
As Paul engagingly shows...replacements aren’t always an advance. Yet one thing Paul neglects to address, save by implication, is the power of 'no.' We are not forced in every case to accede to fashion, to all of modern technology’s demands, or to the dictates of contemporary sensibilities. Paul is incisive when she gets serious, as in her regrets on the decline of reading (especially of books), diminishing opportunities for solitude, and our eroding capacity for empathy. But some of her death knells are premature, a stretch, too sweeping, or off-base, while others come off as overly tongue-in-cheek ... A mixed-bag cultural assessment of the internet landscape.
The dislocations of the internet era get the listicle treatment in this charming if superficial survey ... While Paul occasionally brings in statistics and expert analysis, her rants are generally an accomplished solo act, enriched by her self-deprecating sense of humor ... Readers who remember the dawning of the internet era will find plenty to commiserate with in this mostly lighthearted lament.
