Coders: Who They Are, What They Think and How They Are Changing Our World - Softcover

Thompson, Clive

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1529018994 ISBN 13: 9781529018998

Publisher: Picador, 2019

Synopsis

'Masterful . . . [Thompson] illuminates both the fascinating coders and the bewildering technological forces that are transforming the world in which we live.' David Grann, author of The Lost City of Z

Facebook’s algorithms shaping the news. Uber’s cars flocking the streets. Revolution on Twitter and romance on Tinder. We live in a world constructed of computer code. Coders – software programmers – are the people who built it for us. And yet their worlds and minds are little known to outsiders.

In Coders, Wired columnist Clive Thompson presents a brilliantly original anthropological reckoning with the most influential tribe in today’s world, interrogating who they are, how they think, what they value, what qualifies as greatness in their world, and what should give us pause.

One of the most prominent journalists writing on technology today, Clive Thompson takes us into the minds of coders, the most quietly influential people on the planet, in a journey into the heart of the machine – and the men and women who made it.

About this title

About the Author

Clive Thompson is a longtime contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine and a columnist for Wired. He is the author of Smarter Than You Think: How Technology is Changing Our Minds for the Better.

From the Back Cover

‘Clive Thompson is more than a gifted reporter and writer. He is a brilliant social anthropologist. And, in this masterful book, he illuminates both the fascinating coders and the bewildering technological forces that are transforming the world in which we live.’
David Grann

‘Clive Thompson is the ideal guide to who coders are, what they do, and how they wound up taking over the world. For a book this important, inspiring, and scary, it’s sinfully fun to read.’
Steven Levy

‘Guiding readers through the under-covered history of programming’s female roots, Coders points with assurance to the inequities that have come to define coding today. Readable, revealing, and in many ways infuriating!’
Rebecca Traister

‘Code shapes coders, and coders shape the code that changes how we think, every day of our lives. If you want to create a more humanistic digital world, read this book to get started.’
Sherry Turkle

'Fascinating. Thompson is an excellent writer and his subjects are themselves gripping . . . Many books have covered this territory, but Coders is bang up to date in a fast-moving world . . . Perhaps [coders will] give it to loved ones, with a note attached: “Read this, that’s me!”' Nature

Edition details

• Publisher: Picador
• Publication date: 2019
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1529018994
• ISBN 13: 9781529018998
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 448