* New York Times illustration by David Reinfurt.
I probably won't go out and buy the book "Free" by Chris Anderson, but I'll read free reviews of it, and gather pertinent -- and free -- excerpts for my future reference. I wonder if the author would be pleased to hear this.
From Malcolm Gladwell in The New Yorker:
"Information wants to be free," Anderson tells us, "in the same way that life wants to spread and water wants to run downhill." But information can't actually want anything, can it? Amazon wants the information in the Dallas paper to be free, because that way Amazon makes more money. Why are the self-interested motives of powerful companies being elevated to a philosophical principle?
Good question. It sounds like a fascinating study of markets and media. The Wall Street Journal review of the book is here, and the New York Times review is here. Free to read, of course.
* Wait, the whole book is here! Brilliant.