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GROWING UP DIGITAL

THE RISE OF THE NET GENERATION

Add this to the swelling pile of books on new media that pose many questions and leave all but a few unanswered. Tapscott's (The Digital Economy, not reviewed) problems begin with his formulation of the ``net generation'' of his subtitle—or ``N-Geners'' as he conveniently packages them—on so broad a canvas that the term is devalued: N-Gen may be as young as 2 or as old as 29. As a result, the theories that Tapscott draws from his study of the N-Gen's tastes and inclinations are as shaky and weak as a house built on sand. There may be, Tapscott suggests, as many as seven million young North Americans under the age of 18 spending time on the Internet. While that figure is impressive, and the impact on the country sure to be considerable, Tapscott seems to ignore the fact that many children and adults have no access to the Internet. In this brave new electronic world, the poor and disadvantaged seem to be largely invisible. Tapscott is well over two-thirds of his way into the book before directly addressing the question of how expensive technology is to be made available to the disadvantaged. And when he does, he has little to offer. He suggests, for instance, that the homeless may find shelter information at wired libraries, but he does not address how local libraries will afford the technology to connect to the Internet (let alone the unlikelihood of a homeless person entering or being welcome in the library). Crucial matters are slighted in favor of voluminous anecdotal evidence meant to chart the tastes of a generation growing up unafraid of technology. Too vaporous and unreflectingly enthusiastic to be of much use to anyone deeply interested in the questions of new tehcnology and American society. (illustrations, graphs, not seen) (First printing of 100,000; $100,000 ad/promo; TV satellite tour)

Pub Date: Oct. 21, 1997

ISBN: 0-07-063361-4

Page Count: 308

Publisher: McGraw-Hill

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1997

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THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE

50TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION

Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...

Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.

Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").

Pub Date: May 15, 1972

ISBN: 0205632645

Page Count: 105

Publisher: Macmillan

Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972

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NUTCRACKER

This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

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