The Pinball Effect
by James Burke
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Book Summary Information
Author: James BurkeEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Published)
Format: Bargain Price
Published: 1997-08
ISBN: N/A
Number of pages: 320
Publisher: Back Bay Books
Book Reviews of The Pinball Effect
Book Review: Everything is delightfully connected to everything else
Summary: 4 Stars
James Burke's lastest work is every bit as captivating andinteresting as his earlier books, "Connections" and "The Day the Universe Changed." Twenty relatively short chapters follow a twisted path from one unique idea and end up at the beginning of a new invention, which, fortunately, is the starting point for the next chapter. "Renaissance water gardens make the carbeurator possible." Occasionally, the interconnections are a bit attenuated. For example, borax was mined in Death Valley, which is so named because the conditions there are so harsh that many people simply didn't survive a journey across it, but some of those who did make it stopped at a fort caled New Helvetia, which begat Sutter's Fort, which begat Sutter's Mill, where we all know gold was discovered, and thus the gold rush of 1849. It is tempting to say that, therefore, mining borax caused the gold rush, but this would be disingenuous. Rather, Burke merely offers the relationship without a direct cause and effect link and allows the reader to ponder the significance. Perhaps the most interesting and unique aspects of the book is Burke's use of "gateways." Not unlike hypertext links on the World Wide Web, these gateways allow a reader to interrupt one story and jump into the middle of another. For example, next to the text describing the California gold rush mentioned above, Burke has placed a cross-reference (to the proper page and gateway in a completely different chapter) pointing to Heinrich Schliemann's success in the gold rush and how he used his fortune to attempt to prove that Homer's "Iliad" and "Odyssey" were... well that's a different story. This non-linear way to read a book is very refreshing. A Burke points out, there are 447 different ways to read the book, only one of which is from the cover to cover. Overall, I found this to be a delightful book. While academic readers may find some of its connections and relationships a bit of a stretch, it is a very enjoyable read.
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