Play Book Tag discussion

A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age by Matt Richtel - 3* - My Review

This book is a journalist’s detailed examination of an early incident of texting while driving before most states made it illegal. It examines the circumstances surrounding then nineteen-year-old Reggie Shaw, living in Utah, who caused a crash that resulted in the deaths of two people. He was texting. Richtel delves into the lives of everyone associated with this event, including those who died and their surviving families, the lawyers involved in the court case, law enforcement personnel, a victim’s advocate, Reggie’s family members, and of course, Reggie himself.

The main reason I was attracted to this book is that it purported to be about the science of attention, and it does contain a few chapters on it, but I wanted more neuroscience about the impact of technology on our brains. What I got was a more detailed personal story that went way too far into the personal lives of the people involved for my taste. Did we really need to know about the child abuse experienced by one of the victim’s advocates at an early age? If the author had concentrated on Reggie and the victims, it would have been much more powerful. It also contains way more Mormon theology than I cared to read.

The good news is that it provides a comprehensive analysis of one event that was clearly related to texting while driving and how Reggie Shaw eventually took responsibility and spread the message about the dangers. This and other tragic examples led to massive changes in many states’ laws. It serves as a warning to all of us to put away the tech devices (if we haven’t already) and focus on the road.

PBT May Extra letter R and tagged "crime" x16:
https://www.goodreads.com/work/shelve...