Internet

Our political systems evolved in an era when information was much harder to come by. What challenges does our current reality of information overload pose for democracy? How do we even start thinking about these questions? Political scientist Henry Farrell proposes key books for building a curriculum on 'the politics of information,' starting with a beautifully written novel.

Many of us are grateful to Silicon Valley for the convenience it's brought to our lives, whether shopping, looking up information or communicating with other human beings. But as tech companies become corporate behemoths influencing every aspect of modern life, many realize it's time to take action. Ramesh Srinivasan, UCLA professor and author of Beyond the Valley, recommends books for a more rounded understanding of Silicon Valley.

Not all important subjects make good reading, but cyber security is an exception: not only do we all need to know about and take responsibility for it, but it also generates nonfiction books worthy of John le Carré. Cyber security and policy expert Josephine Wolff, author of You'll see this message when it is too late, recommends the best cyber security books.

A quick search of your symptoms on the internet may lead to an acute case of 'cyberchondria.' But it may also provide data which will improve health and even save lives. Elad Yom-Tov, the author of Crowdsourced Health, recommends books showing how internet data and data science can provide exciting new ways of conducting health and medical research.

'There was a research study done in the 1960s that identified that people will open themselves up to a stranger on a train and tell them deep personal information they would never tell their closest friends, partially because they have this sense that they can confess.'

The 'Great Fire Wall of China'. How has the Chinese Communist Party managed to survive the internet? Economist correspondent Gady Epstein chooses books on the world's most successful case of authoritarian control of the internet.

A conversation with the economist, educator, omnivore, polymath and co-founder of Marginal Revolution, highlighting books about decentralised information, mass collaboration and spontaneous order

It's easy to be impressed by the latest gadgets and comment on how much has changed since we started using them. But how often do we really take a step back and think about technological advances in their broader context? Belarussian tech commentator, Evgeny Morozov, picks the best books on the philosophy of technology.

The challenges – and opportunities – of our times have never been greater. Everything from our models of political participation to the very architecture of our brains is at stake, says the novelist and technology blogger Nick Harkaway.

Is the Internet dividing our attention? Are we so buried in technology that we ignore one another? The technology writer discusses the history and implications of the information age, from the mechanical clock to the iPhone