In the late 1990’s Tom Standage released the first edition of a book that would sweep across the tech community because of its incredible analogies to the rise of the Internet hitting the world at that time. The “Victorian Internet“, first released in 1998, was updated and re-released again in 2013. It provided a well written history and meaningful assessment of the rise of the Telegraph, and made very interesting observations about how the remarkable impact of the Telegraph could help us all think through what may happen as the Internet progressed.
I just re-read the Victorian Internet, this time with the Internet of Things in mind, and would most strongly recommend you grab your copy and review it in that context as well. A new wave of technologies is going to sweep over humanity, and with it will come good and evil. And leaders will need to figure out how to sort out the hype from reality in this domain. The many lessons from history captured in this book should help us do that.
Other Recommended Reading:
Soviet Cyber Espionage in 1986: The Cuckoo’s Egg
SCADA and ME: A Book For Children and Management
Computers and History: Beyond Science Fiction
Pulitzer Prize-Winning Fred Kaplan Explores The Secret History of Cyber War
