Magic And Loss: The Internet As Art

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Synopsis

Virginia Heffernan “melds the personal with the increasingly universal in a highly informative analysis of what the Internet is—and can be. A thoroughly engrossing examination of the Internet’s past, present, and future” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) from one of the best living writers of English prose.

This book makes a bold claim: The Internet is among mankind’s great masterpieces—a massive work of art. As an idea, it rivals monotheism. But its cultural potential and its societal impact often elude us. In this deep and thoughtful book, Virginia Heffernan reveals the logic and aesthetics behind the Internet, just as Susan Sontag did for photography and Marshall McLuhan did for television.

Life online, in the highly visual, social, portable, and global incarnation rewards certain virtues. The new medium favors speed, accuracy, wit, prolificacy, and versatility, and its form and functions are changing how we perceive, experience, and understand the world. In “sumptuous writing, saturated with observations that are simultaneously personal, cultural, and strikingly original” (The New Republic), Heffernan presents “a revealing look at how the Internet continues to reshape our lives emotionally, visually, and culturally” (The Smithsonian Magazine). “Magic and Loss is an illuminating guide to the Internet...it is impossible to come away from this book without sharing some of Heffernan’s awe for this brave new world” (The Wall Street Journal).

Chapters

  • MagicAndLoss 001 OpeningCredits

    Duration: 28s
  • MagicAndLoss 002 Preface

    Duration: 36min
  • MagicAndLoss 003 Chapter1

    Duration: 53min
  • MagicAndLoss 004 Chapter2a

    Duration: 58min
  • MagicAndLoss 005 Chapter2b

    Duration: 56min
  • MagicAndLoss 006 Chapter3

    Duration: 38min
  • MagicAndLoss 007 Chapter4a

    Duration: 38min
  • MagicAndLoss 008 Chapter4b

    Duration: 39min
  • MagicAndLoss 009 Chapter5

    Duration: 48min
  • MagicAndLoss 010 Chapter6a

    Duration: 43min
  • MagicAndLoss 011 Chapter6b

    Duration: 29min
  • MagicAndLoss 012 ClosingCredits

    Duration: 51s