Internet Policy: Most Important Book in Years is Now Out

Details

Author(s):
  • Marvin Ammori
Publish Date:
August 31, 2010
Publication Title:
ammori.org blog
Format:
Op-Ed or Opinion Piece
Citation(s):
  • Marvin Ammori, Internet Policy: Most Important Book in Years is Now Out, ammori.org blog, August 11, 2010.
Related Organization(s):

Abstract

There’s a new book out on Internet policy that is essential reading for anyone interested in Internet policy—and probably for anyone interested in the law, economics, technology, or start-ups. I recommend it to everyone. It’s that good.

Barbara van Schewick’s new book, “Internet Architecture and Innovation,” is one of the very few books in my field in the same league as Larry Lessig’s Code, in 2000, and Yochai Benkler’s Wealth of Networks, in 2006, in terms of its originality, depth, and importance to Internet policy and other disciplines. I expect the book to affect how people think about the Internet; about the interactions between law and technical architectures in all areas of law; about entrepreneurship in general. I also think her insights on innovation economics, which strike me as far more persuasive than lawyers’ usual assumptions, should influence “law and economics” thinking for the better.

Books this good don’t come along every day—or even every year–and I’m already late to the praise-party. Lessig, a Harvard Law Professor, sang its praises on the book jacket and in the New York Times. MIT computer scientist David Reed has joined in, and so has venture capitalist and Twitter investor Brad Burnham. There’s a reason leading legal minds, technologists, and investors are raving about a book: really, it’s that good.