"Breakpoint: Why the Web Will Implode, Search will be Obsolete, and Everything Else You Need to Know about Technology is in Your Brain" by Jeff Stibel

For my initial search, I typed "technology society" into the amazon.com search bar. I thought that this would not only help narrow down the book list to only those related to more recent publications, but also let me view books about how information technology has shaped society, a topic that I am particularly interested in. From this list, I chose "The App Generation: How Today's Youth Navigate Identity, Intimacy and Imagination in a Digital World," by Howard Gardner, "The End of Absence: Reclaiming What We've Lost in a World of Constant Connection," by Michael Harris, and "Breakpoint: Why the Web Will Implode, Search Will Be Obsolete, and Everything Else You Need to Know about Technology is in Your Brain," by Jeff Stibel. All three books has comparable word counts, ranging from 272-256 pages, were all given 4/5 or 4.5/5 star rankings on Amazon, and cost between $10 and $20. I read a few reviews of each book and found that they differed dramatically in their angles, but were all related in some capacity to the connection between internet technology and physiology or psychiatry.

The LibraryThing gave lower rankings for "The App Generation" whereas both "Breakpoint" and "The End of Absence" were given 4.5/5 star rankings. I then read a review by a LibraryThing user about "Breakpoint" deeming it a menial overview of information technology, which originally dissuaded me from choosing it over the others. They also had similar popularity rankings on LibraryThing, each hovering around 300,000.

At this point, I knew that I didn't want to read "The App Generation" as its reviews made it sound like more of a whimsical, nonfictional novella rather than something applicable to LIS. I then read reviews on Google Books of "Breakpoint" and "The End of Absence," and my opinion was swayed toward reading "Breakpoint." From the posts by readers, I deduced that the novel drew parallels between the cognitive networks in the human brain, and compared them to advances and networks in technology over the years. I find this perspective fascinating and hope that it will further elaborate on a topic studied by one of my previous professors, Molly Steenson, in which she has examined the history of networks as a series of intertwined "nodes."

Reviews:

http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.library.wisc.edu/pqrl/docview/1511595197/fulltextPDF/C49C005D9393469DPQ/1?accountid=465

http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.library.wisc.edu/pqrl/docview/1370729170/fulltextPDF/C49C005D9393469DPQ/2?accountid=465

http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.library.wisc.edu/pqrl/docview/1399540753/C49C005D9393469DPQ/3?accountid=465

*There were no reviews available on Project Muse