The most recommended information technology books

Tangle’s Game is a clever examination of the near future with an exploration of prejudice that is massively relevant in today’s society. The very best science fiction offers us a mirror to our own circumstances and situations. In the world of Tangle’s Game, we see the cultural behemoths of blockchain technology and social media as even more dominant forces than they are today.

Hotston uses this story to offer an informed and nuanced perspective on the world. Amanda’s descent from conformity highlights the ways in which we are measured and judged.

Columbia Law Professor and recently departed White House advisor Tim Wu looks at the evolution of the information industry.

While written in 2011, Master Switch describes the technological and corporate developments that have brought us to today’s information age and all its corporate and civil challenges. I love the historical stories he uses and how they are really not that different from contemporary developments. 

Technology is always moving on. And so it should be forgiven the author that many of the concrete examples in this book are now somewhat dated. They provide some interesting insight into the history of computing and media technology, but the real value of Roszak’s argument lies in his analysis of how—thanks to computer technology—society has become obsessed with “information”. It’s almost a cult. But information is not knowledge, data does not in itself provide understanding. In fact, in a peculiarly paradoxical way, the more information we have, the less we actually know. Thirty years later, as we swim daily in the disinformation of the murky waters of social media and disappear down Youtube rabbit holes, Roszak’s point seems more pertinent than ever.

Do filing cabinets matter anymore? I asked myself this question as I popped open Robertson’s book, quickly to find that these storage cabinets have a tremendous amount to teach us about “information” in the present moment.

Robertson demonstrates how the filing cabinet, through its vertical storage, became a “skyscraper” for the office, and this spatial arrangement not only influenced what information was but how it should be organized.

I love the fantastic archival images in the book, which made a humble and even “boring” technology incredibly relatable and vivid. At the same time, I appreciated Robertson’s ruminations on gender and the file clerk; it’s not just what gets filed, he convinced me, but also who does the filing.

Information overload threatens our ability to educate ourselves, leaves us more vulnerable as consumers and less cohesive as a society, and diminishes control of our own lives. As such David Shenk offers numerous “Laws of Data Smog," i.e: Information is now plentiful and taken for granted. I was immediately impressed by his pithy observations: Putting a computer in every classroom is like putting an electric power plant into every home; education cannot be fixed with a digital pipeline of data. Too many experts spoil the clarity, and lead to the paralysis of analysis.

The law of diminishing returns, says Shenk, applied to the growing speed and abundance of information, will produce an infoglut that will no longer add to our quality of life. Infoglut is already cultivating stress, confusion, and, yes, ignorance. I have found this to be too true!

In a glutted environment, he says, the most difficult task… show more.

This remarkably thorough and well researched book gives a sense of the sweep of history of the ideas that underpin the digital revolution. These are topics that I know really well, but the book added texture and nuance and I found myself reading it with eyes wide open and jaw slightly slack.

Gleick is a great story teller and he has dug into the topics and their implications so well that I felt like I had a front-row seat to the invention of Morse Code, "memes", and the theory of information itself. Quite an accomplishment!

Have you ever found that you unintentionally offended someone with an innocuous message? Or perhaps no one responds to your emails, even when you think they should.

We lose so much meaning and context when we interact online rather than in person. In a world of virtual and hybrid work, it’s not enough to write well. We must also master the non-verbal signals that accompany our words. This book is an essential guide to mastering the subtle ins and outs of writing emails, messages, texts, social media posts, and more.

By giving up screens one day a week for over a decade, Internet pioneer and renowned filmmaker Tiffany Shlain and her family have gained more time, productivity, connection, and presence.

I have always found connection with Tiffany’s films and writing because of our mutual interest in the impact of technology on our culture and people’s lives. With humor and wisdom, Shlain showed me how the ritual of unplugging from the screen one day a week, which is based on the ancient Jewish ritual of Shabbat, can help you feel more calm and connected to people in your life. 

Stoll is prescient in that he foresaw all the problems that the Internet would present.

He was one of the first users and successfully tracked down one of its first criminal hackers. Stoll understands human nature well and how "The road to hell is paved with good intentions." He warns, "Big-time disasters creep up on us."

I love the Internet. However, it's obvious now that it can be hazardous to your health. Can we change our nature? Or are we doomed because of an 'upgrade problem'?

The Phoenix Project is a storybook about affect fictious company called parts unlimited.

I swear I must have worked at this company at some point in my career, it feels so familiar! It follows a story of an organization that used waterfall in order to make software and all the problems that happened from using this very old software development methodology.

Throughout the story they ‘discover’ how to do DevOps, slowly improving all of their process is until they have a smooth-oiled software creation machine. This includes many stories about security and why the old ways of doing information security just don't work within a DevOps environment.

The characters in this book are both lovable, and relatable. I would never have thought a fictitious story about an IT department could be so fun to read!