Information Doesn’t Want to Be Free

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What to expect

In sharply argued, fast-moving chapters, Cory Doctorow's Information Doesn't Want to Be Free takes on the state of copyright and creative success in the digital age. Can small artists still thrive in the Internet era? Can giant record labels avoid alienating their audiences? This is a book about the pitfalls and the opportunities that creative industries (and individuals) are confronting today. An essential read for anyone with a stake in the future of the arts, Information Doesn't Want to Be Free offers a vivid guide to the ways creativity and the Internet interact today, and to what might be coming next.

Critics Review

“Filled with wisdom and thought experiments and things
that will mess with your mind.”

Neil Gaiman

“Cory Doctorow’s punchy, instructive Information Doesn’t Want to Be Free: New Laws for the Internet Age is a must-read for anyone who hopes to make a living selling creative work online. A buoyant and geeky manual, it teaches creators how to make today’s complex intellectual property rules and technology work for them.”

San Francisco Chronicle

“An excellent, sometimes sobering primer on copyright and creativity in the Internet age.”

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

“A readable, concise look at the breadth and scope of copyright law in the modern age.”

Consumerist

Information Doesn’t Want to Be Free is the most entertaining and informational book on copyright law you’ll ever read.”

Shelf Awareness

“The Internet has expanded and cluttered the debate over intellectual
property with technical terms and special interests, but Doctorow…breaks down some of the most
fundamental concepts at work into plain language…He excels at
translating complex issues into pithy, digestible phrases and
challenges readers to rethink the idea of copyright and who it is meant to serve…He deftly
explains how an open Internet directly affects freedom of speech and
freedom of the press and why censorship doesn’t solve problems. Equal
parts manifesto and field guide, Doctorow’s primer for artists and
creators delivers a healthy dose of clarity to the debate.”

Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Required reading for creators making their
ways through the new world.”

Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Author, Internet guru, and practical
philosopher Cory Doctorow gives hardheaded advice about how to gain fame and
fortune using the Internet. Along the way, he explains a great deal about the
hidden workings and dangers of modern technology. Whether you want to make
money online or just surf safely, there’s much to learn in this fast-moving and
entertaining narrative.”

Alex Kozinski, chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

“Cory Doctorow has been thinking longer and smarter
than anyone else I know about how we create and exchange value in a digital age.”

Douglas Rushkoff, author of Program or Be Programmed

“Cory Doctorow’s broadside against copyrights is well suited for the audiobook format. The short chapters move quickly, the musical cues maintain momentum, and Wil Wheaton’s persuasive narration pilots the whole production with a confident forward motion. Doctorow’s thesis—that fame trumps talent, people want free stuff, and individual copying is a benign form of expression—is clearly and convincingly conveyed.”

AudioFile

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