There has been much debate over the idea of 'the information society'. Some thinkers have argued that information is becoming the key ordering principle in society, whereas others suggest that the rise of information has been overstated. Whatever the case, though, it cannot be denied that 'informization' has produced vast changes in advanced societies. The Information Society Reader pulls together the main contributions to this debate from some of the key figures in the field. Major topics addressed include:

· post-industrialism
· surveillance
· transformations
· the network society
· democracy
· digital divisions
· virtual relations.

With a comprehensive introduction from Frank Webster, and section introductions contextualising the readings, The Information Society Reader will be an invaluable resource for students and academics studying contemporary society and all things cyber.

Includes selections from Manuel Castells, Daniel Bell, Anthony Giddens, Michel Foucault and Christopher Lasch, amongst others.

Contents:
Frank Webster Introduction: Information Society Studies Part 1: The Information Society Frank Webster Introduction Advocates 1. Yoneji Masuda Image of the Future Information Society 2. Charles Leadbeater Living on Thin Air 3. Esther Dyson, George Gilder, George Keyworth and Alvin Toffler Cyberspace and the American Dream Critics 4. Langdon Winner Who Will We Be in Cyberspace? 5. Theodore Roszak The Cult of Information 6. Kevin Robins and Frank Webster The Long History of the Information Revolution Part 2: Post-Industrial Society Harri Melin Introduction 7. Daniel Bell Post-Industrial Society 8. Krishan Kumar From Post-Industrial to Post-Modern Society 9. John Urry Is Britain the First Post-Industrial Society? Part 3: The Network Society Frank Webster Introduction 10. Manuel Castells An Introduction to the Information Age 11. Manuel Castells The Information City, the New Economy, and the Network Society 12. Nicholas Garnham Information Society Theory as Ideology Part 4: Transformations Frank Webster Introduction 13. John Urry Mobile Sociology 14. Robert B. Reich The Three Jobs of the Future 15. Nico Stehr The Economic Structure of Knowledge Societies 16. Anne Balsamo Forms of Technological Embodiment Part 5: Divisions Kaarle Nordenstreng Introduction 17. Herbert Schiller Data Deprivation 18. Pippa Norris The Digital Divide 19. Christopher Lasch The Degradation of the Practical Arts Part 6: Surveillance Raimo Blom Introduction 20. Michel Foucault Panopticism 21. Shoshana Zuboff Managing the Informated Organization 22. David Lyon New Directions in Theory Part 7: Democracy Erkki Karvonen Introduction 23. Jurgen Habermas The Public Sphere 24. Nicholas Garnham The Media and the Public Sphere 25. John Keane Structural Transformations of the Public Sphere 26. Zizi Papacharissi The Virtual Sphere: The Internet as a Public Sphere Part 8: Virtualities Ensio Puoskari Introduction 27. Mark Poster The Mode of Information and Postmodernity 28. Eric Michaels For a Cultural Future 29. Sadie Plant The Future Looms: Weaving Women and Cybernetics