Description

Computer code was supposed to make the world a better place. When Andrew Smith began to suspect the opposite was happening, he asked himself why. Was it the coders? Or was there something about code itself, about the very way we compute, that could be intensifying rather than relieving our problems? To find out he realized he would need to dive headfirst into the machine by becoming a coder himself – in middle age, with no prior experience.

Devil in the Stack describes what quickly became the strangest and most astonishing assignment of the Moondust author’s already colourful career, propelling him to the very heart of what it means to be human; to the cutting edge of philosophy, psychology, music, history and neuroscience, and ultimately the weird noir Neverland of Silicon Valley.

By turns revelatory, funny, inspiring and unsettling, this is an essential book for our time, indispensable to anyone hoping to understand the moment we’re in.

Publisher Review

Much of his absorbing book asks serious questions about the direction in which the computer industry and tech giants such as Google and Meta are taking us * Mail on Sunday * Dense, prickly and rewarding…Andrew Smith, who has written absorbingly about astronauts and the dotcom bubble here explores the “haunting alien logic” of computer code * TLS * A humane, nuanced, humorous, insightful work and a much-needed call for greater due diligence around some of the most impactful innovations in human history * Booklist (starred review) * A searing philosophical take on the ravages of the digital age, this is a must-read * Publishers Weekly (starred review) * An engaging plunge into the world of code and its transformative implications * Kirkus Reviews * A fascinating journey into the world of computer code, its history, the people who create it, some of its current controversies, and its implications for the future of society . . . Anyone who’s curious about the why and how of what makes computers do what they do will find Devil in the Stack a fertile introduction * Shelf Awareness * Smith is an ideal narrator: sharp-eyed yet increasingly affectionate about his subjects; expert enough to dissect Apollo minutiae clearly but not so obsessed as to leave a general reader trailing in the jetwash * Financial Times on MOONDUST * A brilliant exploration of madness and genius in the early days of the web. Fascinatingly weird . . . terrific * Guardian on TOTALLY WIRED * A rich mix of cultural history, reportage and personal reflection * Evening Standard on MOONDUST * Highly entertaining . . . [Smith’s] superb book is a fitting tribute to a unique band of 20th-century heroes * GQ on MOONDUST *