Synopsis:
An experienced tech writer fully explains blockchain technology and how it will radically transform the world as we know it in this accessible, reader-friendly, illuminating guide.
What is blockchain? Why does everyone from tech experts to business moguls to philanthropists believe it is a paradigm-shifting technology, bound to revolutionize society as significantly as the internet? Indeed, why is blockchain touted as The Next Everything?
In this deft, fascinating, and easy-to-digest introduction to one of the most important innovations of recent times, Stephen P. Williams answers these questions, revealing how cryptocurrencies like bitcoin are just one example among dozens of transformative applications that this relatively new technology makes possible. He interprets the complexity into digestible anecdotes, metaphors, and straightforward descriptions for readers who don’t know tech, and explains all of blockchain’s most important aspects: why this so-called digital ledger is unhackable and unchangeable; how its distributed nature may transfer power from central entities like banks, government, and corporations to ordinary citizens around the world; and what its widespread use will mean for society as a whole.
Taking us on a dazzlingly vivid tour through the systems predicted to soon underpin economics, politics, global trade, science, art, and numerous other aspects of our everyday lives, Blockchain: The Next Everything is a truly extraordinary journey into our future.
Review:
"Finally: a book that engagingly and entertainingly tells you what blockchain is and how it works. It makes clear why it's so important for our future, showing how this technology can help with everything from voting rights to economic inequality to corporate transparency to climate change. Stephen P. Williams' Blockchain: The Next Everything is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand where the world is headed."--Hunter Lovins, author of Natural Capitalism and President and Founder of Natural Capitalism Solutions
"Stephen P. Williams has created a small miracle - a book about blockchain that helps the rest of us understand what it is, how it works and what the implications are for the future of our world. From the first page to the last, just when you think you know what this book is, it surprises you. By turns poetic, philosophical, explanatory and provocative, Blockchain: The Next Everything is a must-read for anyone who has ever wondered what all the hype is about, and why they should care."--Ty Montague, author of True Story and Founder of Co: Collective
"Shakespeare famously advised readers to be on watch for tides in human history. Now we have blockchain. If you are curious about it, read this book. Stephen P. Williams has created a remarkable and remarkably accessible piece of work on one of the most important topics of our time."--Rye Barcott, author of It Happened on the Way to War and co-founder of Double Time Capital
"An astonishing, illuminating tour of a mind-bending new economic model--written with the verve and page-turning appeal of a novel. A book for the nerd but especially for the rest of us scratching our tech-terrified heads. And--how did he do this?--it's inspiring and fun."--Patricia Hampl, author of The Art of the Wasted Day
"This short introduction to a cutting-edge technology is appealingly informative and hopeful."--Publishers Weekly
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