Cyber Reader : Critical Writings for the Digital Era

Cyber Reader is an anthology of extracts from key texts related to the theme of cyberspace - the virtual communicative space created by digital technologies. Approaching the subject from a variety of fields, including science fiction, this book reflects the multidisciplinary basis of cyberspace and illustrates how different disciplines can inform one another.

Over forty texts are presented in chronological order, beginning with some precursors to cyberspace theory as we know it today. Writings by early theoreticians such as Charles Babbage and Alan Turing, or authors such as EM Forster, help to give a historical perspective to the subject, while texts on theoretical developments show the parallels between real and imagined worlds.

Each extract is prefaced by a short introduction by editor Neil Spiller explaining key themes and terms and providing cross references to related texts. An extensive bibliography enables readers to pursue strands of study that interest them.

Cyber Reader is an essential source book, introducing students and researchers to cyberspatial theory and practice. It will help readers understand the wealth of opportunities, both practical and theoretical, that cyberspace engenders and enable them to chart its impact on many disciplines.

Neil Spiller is Reader in Architecture and Digital Theory at the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London. He has written widely on cyberspace and is also author of Digital Dreams: Architecture and the New Alchemic Technologies (1998).