Acclaimed media theorist and award-winning science-fiction writer Paul Levinson here brings his dual talents to bear on probing the hurtling information revolution, and the way it is transforming our lives. Computers as judges, books programmed to appeal to literally everyone's personal tastes, the civil rights of robots, the extinction of extinction via reclaimed DNA--these and many other cutting-edge themes are explored in the nine short stories and nine essays that comprise this extraordinary collection. In addition to writings that first appeared in publications ranging from "Wired" to "Analog," this book also contains three never-before-published science fiction stories by Paul Levinson. A great introduction to a highly original, important, and captivating author.
Paul Levinson, PhD, is an author, professor, singer-songwriter, media commentator, podcaster, and publisher. His first novel, The Silk Code, won the Locus Award for best first science fiction novel of 1999. Entertainment Weekly called his 2006 novel, The Plot to Save Socrates, “challenging fun”. Unburning Alexandria, sequel to The Plot to Save Socrates, was published in 2013. Chronica - the third novel in the Sierra Waters time travel trilogy - followed in 2014. His 1995 award-nominated novelette, "The Chronology Protection Case," was made into a short film, now on Amazon Prime Video. His 2022 alternate history short story about The Beatles, "It's Real Life," was made into a radioplay, streaming free, and an audiobook, in 2023, and it won the Mary Shelley Award for Outstanding Fiction. "It's Real Life" was expanded into a novel, It's Real Life: An Alternate History of The Beatles, and published in 2024. Paul Levinson was President of the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA), 1998-2001. His nine nonfiction books on the history and future of media -- Human Replay: A Theory of The Evolution of Media (1979/2017), Mind at Large: Knowing in the Technological Age (1988), Electronic Chronicles (1992), Learning Cyberspace (1995), The Soft Edge: A Natural History and Future of the Information Revolution (1998), Digital McLuhan (1999), RealSpace (2003), Cellphone (2004), and New New Media (2009, 2012) -- have been translated into 16 languages around the world, and have been reviewed in The New York Times, Wired, and major newspapers and magazines. Two shorter books, McLuhan in an Age of Social Media and Fake News in Real Context, were published in 2015-2016, and are frequently updated. Levinson appears on CNN, MSNBC, NPR, and numerous other television and radio shows and podcasts. His 1972 album, Twice Upon a Rhyme, was reissued on CD and remastered vinyl and is available on Bandcamp and iTunes. His first new album since Twice Upon A Rhyme -- Welcome Up: Songs of Space Time -- was released by Old Bear Records on CD and digital, and Light in the Attic Records on vinyl, in 2020. Levinson is Professor of Communication and Media Studies at Fordham University in NYC.