Pushcart publisher Henderson founded the Lead Pencil Club in 1993 to "yank the plug on the international electronics industry that is fattening its purse while brain-draining this civilization." He has collected here the short essays, letters, news clips, poems, testimonials, and even a few cartoons by such contributors as Neil Postman, Clifford Stoll, Russell Baker, Wendell Berry, Doris Grumbach, John Updike, Alvin Toffler, and Ted Koppel. There is fun and humor here, as in the clip from the New York Times Magazine that proposes the Video Baby for consumers who say they value the family but don't have time to start one. But there is also true concern about harm from the modern barrage of hype and advertising. While some contributors won't throw away their computers and others won't buy them in the first place, all agree that real life is better than virtual. The collection is both practical and philosophical. Parents and teachers might want to take it to the next PTA discussion on computer labs for the school, and librarians might do well to read it before delving into conference proceedings. Of interest to public and academic libraries.Nancy Shires, East Carolina Univ., Greenville, N.C.
Henderson, the Pushcart Press's publisher, struck a powerful "Leaddite" nerve when he founded the antitech Lead Pencil Club, and his selection here shows how deep the reactions are to the telecommunications bubble of e-mail, telephones, faxes, TV, and radio. This club's themes include prose style vs. word processing, paper vs. cathode ray tubes, intimacy vs. interface, conversation vs. voice-mail—with the No. 2 pencil as the preferred instrument and emblem. The best essays, unsurprisingly, are from the likes of Neil Postman, on computers and education; Clifford Stoll, on the Internet and e-mail; and Sven Birkerts, on the human brain and the "Electronic Hive." Other writers simply echo their arguments and concerns. Most of the testimonials from club members, who have given up TV, computers, phones, etc., tend toward technophobia and nostalgia. This collection also boasts marginalia from John Updike, Dave Barry, Robert Hughes, Alvin Toffler, Nicholson Baker, and others, and postcard-bites from club members worldwide. While salutatory in its skepticism and resistance to Information Age hype, this is, ironically, like much of the Internet—broadly superficial. (illustrations, not seen)
Henderson, the Pushcart Press's publisher, struck a powerful "Leaddite" nerve when he founded the antitech Lead Pencil Club, and his selection here shows how deep the reactions are to the telecommunications bubble of e-mail, telephones, faxes, TV, and radio. This club's themes include prose style vs. word processing, paper vs. cathode ray tubes, intimacy vs. interface, conversation vs. voice-mail—with the No. 2 pencil as the preferred instrument and emblem. The best essays, unsurprisingly, are from the likes of Neil Postman, on computers and education; Clifford Stoll, on the Internet and e-mail; and Sven Birkerts, on the human brain and the "Electronic Hive." Other writers simply echo their arguments and concerns. Most of the testimonials from club members, who have given up TV, computers, phones, etc., tend toward technophobia and nostalgia. This collection also boasts marginalia from John Updike, Dave Barry, Robert Hughes, Alvin Toffler, Nicholson Baker, and others, and postcard-bites from club members worldwide. While salutatory in its skepticism and resistance to Information Age hype, this is, ironically, like much of the Internet—broadly superficial. (illustrations, not seen)
Henderson, the Pushcart Press's publisher, struck a powerful "Leaddite" nerve when he founded the antitech Lead Pencil Club, and his selection here shows how deep the reactions are to the telecommunications bubble of e-mail, telephones, faxes, TV, and radio. This club's themes include prose style vs. word processing, paper vs. cathode ray tubes, intimacy vs. interface, conversation vs. voice-mail—with the No. 2 pencil as the preferred instrument and emblem. The best essays, unsurprisingly, are from the likes of Neil Postman, on computers and education; Clifford
