There was a time in the not-too-distant past when large companies
and powerful governments reigned supreme over the little guy. But
new technologies are empowering individuals like never before, and
the Davids of the world-the amateur journalists, musicians, and
small businessmen and women-are suddenly making a huge economic and
social impact.
In Army of Davids, author Glenn Reynolds, the man behind the
immensely popular Instapundit.com, provides an in-depth,
big-picture point-of-view for a world where the small guys matter
more and more. Reynolds explores the birth and growth of the
individual's surprisingly strong influence in: arts and
entertainment, anti-terrorism, nanotech and space research, and
much more.
The balance of power between the individual and the organization
is finally evening out. And it's high time the Goliaths of the
world pay attention, because, as this book proves, an army of
Davids is on the rise.
"George Orwell feared that technology would enable dictators to
enslave the masses. Glenn Reynolds shows that technology can
empower individuals to determine their own futures and to defeat
those who would enslave us. This is a book of profound
importance-and also a darn good read."
-MICHAEL BARONE, senior writer at U.S. News & World Report and
author of Hard America, Soft America
"Blogger extraordinaire Glenn Reynolds shows how average
Americans can use new technologies to overcome the twin demons of
corporate greed and incompetent government. Reynolds is a
compelling evangelist for the power of the individual to change our
world."
-ARIANNA HUFFINGTON, author of Pigs at the Trough and Fanatics and
Fools
"A smart, fun tour of a major social andeconomic trend. From
home-brewed beer to blogging, Glenn Reynolds is an engaging,
uniquely qualified guide to the do-it-yourself movements
transforming business, politics, and media."
-VIRGINIA POSTREL, Forbes columnist and author of The Future and
its Enemies and The Substance of Style
"A student in her dorm room now commands the resources of a
multi-million dollar music recording or movie editing studio of not
so many years ago. The tools of creativity have been democratized
and the tools of production are not far behind (Karl Marx take
note). Glenn Reynolds's beguiling new book tells the insightful
story of how an 'army of Davids' is inheriting the Earth, leaving a
trail of obsolete business models not to mention cultural,
economic, and political institutions in its wake."
-RAY KURZWEIL, scientist, inventor, and author of several books
including The Singularity is Near
'Must-read, ' 'gotta have, ' 'culture-changing' . . . I am
suspicious of blurbs with such overused plugs. But Glenn Reynolds's
An Army of Davids is in fact a must-read new book that you gotta
have if you are going to understand the culture-changing forces
that are unleashed and at work across the globe.
-HUGH HEWITT, syndicated talk radio host and author of Blog and
Painting the Map Red
"Glenn Reynolds has written an essential book for understanding
how technology and markets are creating a bottom-up shift in power
to ordinary people that is changing business, government, and our
world. Packed with fresh ideas and adorned with graceful prose, An
Army of Davids is a masterpiece."
-JOE TRIPPI, author of The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
"I cannot think of a better book for the average reader
tounderstand just how the Web and other digital technologies are
reversing the polarities of modern society-restoring many features
of daily life lost with the Industrial Revolution, while at the
same time inventing powerful new cultural institutions. And for
those of us who make careers out of watching this transformation,
no book to date so well summarizes all of the diverse trends in a
single narrative."
-MICHAEL MALONE, "Silicon Insider," ABC News
"Reynolds' highly informative book-a must-read if you want to
have some idea of the direction things are taking-is about a lot
more than the effect of blogging on Big Media. Its theme is 'the
triumph of personal technology over mass technology, ' which is a
trend Reynolds believes is only 'going to strengthen over the
coming decades.'"
- FRANK WILSON, Philadelphia Inquirer
"Instapundit's book reads fast. . . It's just one big idea after
another, like a Hollywood thriller that piles on the plot rather
than stopping to tie up the loose ends. . . He's fearless. .
."
-MICKEY KAUS, Kausfiles
"The book covers everything from home-brewing beer to space
travel, but all the themes are connected by Glenn's faith in human
imagination and creativity. It's a must-read for anyone interested
in where technology is taking us."
-JIM MEIGS, Popular Mechanics
"Reynolds comes across as a good-humored, reasonable and even
modest fellow, so it is astonishing to realize just how ambitious
An Army of Davids really is. A hundred years ago, nobody could
accurately explain or predict just where the Industrial Revolution
would take us. Now, Reynolds attempts nothing short of explaining
and predicting where the Information Revolution will takeus. . . I
will make a prediction-in December, when lists of the most
important books of the year are drawn up, this one will be near the
top."
- JAMES L. MERRINER, Chicago Sun-Times
"Reynolds argues that we are undergoing a sea change. The
balance of advantage-in every aspect of society-is shifting from
big organizations to small ones. . . Reynolds presents his case
with verve and wit."
-ADRIAN WOOLDRIDGE, Wall Street Journal
." . . crisp and readable. . . "
-The Economist
"Glenn Reynolds isn't just the author of An Army of Davids. He's
a living, breathing embodiment of the book's attractive and
persuasive thesis. . ."
-NICK GILLESPIE, New York Post