Media, technology, and society : theories of media evolution /

Originating in a 2006 conference, this latest in a long line of books examining the history of media development looks for patterns or trends that might provide insights into possible future developments. Multimedia Histories: From the Magic Lantern to the Internet, ed. by James Lyon and John Plunkett (CH, Dec'07, 45-1869), and Brian Winston's Media Technology and Society: A History: From the Telegraph to the Internet (CH, Mar'99, 36-3752) provide similar approaches. Seven of the book's ten chapters focus on a particular medium and its evolution; the final two chapters examine privacy and digital-rights management across media. The chapters vary in style and scholarly content: most have references and endnotes, some have only references, and one chapter has neither. In an introductory chapter, Neuman (Univ. of Michigan) provides context by asserting the Internet, as a medium, may be unique because it subsumes earlier media rather than simply competing with them. He provides an explanation for the adoption of earlier media, but unfortunately makes no reference to Everett Rogers and his "diffusion of innovations" theory. This volume is most likely to be used as a source of information on a particular medium, rather than as investigation in its entirety. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower- and upper-division undergraduates; technical students; general readers. D. Caristi Ball State University