Hitting the Books: Meet Richard Akrwright, the world's first tech titan

You didn't actually believe all those founder's myths about tech billionaires like Bezos, Jobs and Musk pulling themselves up by their bootstraps from some suburban American garage, did you? In reality, our corporate kings have been running the same playbook since the 18th century when Lancashire's own Richard Arkwright wrote it. Arkwright is credited with developing a means of forming cotton fully into thread — technically he didn't actually invent or design the machine, but developed the overarching system in which it could be run at scale — and spinning that success into financial fortune. Never mind the fact that his 24-hour production lines were operated by boys as young as seven pulling 13-hour shifts.   In Blood in the Machine: The Origins of the Rebellion Against Big Tech — one of the best books I've read this year — LA Times tech reporter Brian Merchant lays bare the inhumane cost of capitalism wrought by the industrial revolution and celebrates the workers who stood against those first tides of automation: the Luddites. Hachette Book GroupExcerpted from Blood in the Machine: The Origins of the Rebellion Against Big Tech by Brian Merchant. Published by Hachette Book Group. Copyright © 2023 by Brian Merchant. All rights reserved.The first tech titans were not building global information networks or commercial space rockets. They were making yarn and cloth. A lot of yarn, and a lot of cloth. Like our modern-day titans, they started out as entrepreneurs. But until... Continue reading at 'Engadget'

[ Engadget | 2023-09-10 14:30:56 UTC ]
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IPA Leaders Tour Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival Ahead of World Book Day

On the eve of Sharjah's year as UNESCO's World Book Capital, the International Publishers Association brass sees the 11-year-old children's reading fair. The post IPA Leaders Tour Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival Ahead of World Book Day appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2019-04-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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My TED talk: how I took on the tech titans in their lair

For more than a year, the Observer writer has been probing a darkness at the heart of Silicon Valley. Last week, at a TED talk that became a global viral sensation, she told the tech billionaires they had broken democracy. What happened next?If Silicon Valley is the beast, then TED is its belly.... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2019-04-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon Crossing Rolls Out Its 2019 World Book Day Translation Offer

In this year's promotion for World Book Day, Amazon Crossing is giving away titles from Spanish, Dutch, German, Hebrew, Swedish, Japanese, and Norwegian. The post Amazon Crossing Rolls Out Its 2019 World Book Day Translation Offer appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2019-04-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This is the tech hack that I used to read books faster

This author stumbled on a new trick that allowed him to finish more business books (and it’s not listening to audiobooks). We all need to read more. Warren Buffett spends 80% of his day reading. Bill Gates reads a book a week. Reading is the only way to stand on the shoulders of the giants all... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2019-04-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Books Heard ‘Round the World: A New Survey of International Audiobook Markets

The Audio Publishers Association, Bookrepublic, and Bologna Children's Book Fair have begun surveying various audiobook markets. The post Books Heard ‘Round the World: A New Survey of International Audiobook Markets appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2019-04-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Beach libraries and cricket as Sharjah becomes UNESCO World Book Capital

Beach libraries and celebrating reading through cricket will form part of the year-long programme in Sharjah when it becomes the 19th UNESCO World Book Capital. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-04-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The stars of ‘Shazam!’ on bringing the ‘Big’-meets-Superman comic book film to life

Sitting down in a back room at a Dave & Buster’s restaurant in Hollywood, actors Zachary Levi, Asher Angel and Jack Dylan Grazer are amped-up — and not just because they’ve been playing Tomb Raider and Space Invaders arcade games for 20 minutes. In recent days, the three have been watching... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-04-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Meaningful goats: Brexit picture book hits the farm

Andersen Press will publish “the first Brexit picture book”, Smriti Prasadam-Halls and illustrator Robert Starling’s The Little Island. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-04-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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UNESCO Goes Over Sharjah World Book Capital Plans; 2021 Applications Deadline is May 2

In a working session in Paris, final programming plans have been introduced for the coming UNESCO World Book Capital events, after Sharjah's Sheikh Al Qasimi launches English translations in London. The post UNESCO Goes Over Sharjah World Book Capital Plans; 2021 Applications Deadline is May 2... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2019-03-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sheikh Zayed Book Award 2019 Winners: ‘World-Class Thinkers and Authors’

This year's recipients of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award, as announced to date, come from Morocco, Kuwait, Algeria, Lebanon, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates. The post Sheikh Zayed Book Award 2019 Winners: ‘World-Class Thinkers and Authors’ appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2019-03-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Emirates Publishers Association at 10: Driving Books’ Fast Progress in the Arab World

Bodour Al Qasimi, the founding president of the Emirates Publishers Association reflects on the last decade of book publishing in the UAE and the Arab world The post Emirates Publishers Association at 10: Driving Books’ Fast Progress in the Arab World appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2019-03-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Kinney's World Book Day boom continues

Jeff Kinney’s Diary of Greg Heffley’s Best Friend (Puffin) is once again the UK Official Top 50 number one, with the World Book Day title beating David Walliams’ Fing (HarperCollins Children's) to the top spot by fewer than 4,000 copies Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-03-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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London Book Fair 2019: Why Brexit Might Hit British Academic Publishers Hardest

Brexit remains a source of uncertainty for all British publishers, but it has already negatively impacted the academic publishing sector in the U.K. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-03-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Kinney leapfrogs Walliams in World Book Day bonanza

Jeff Kinney’s £1 World Book Day title Diary of Greg Heffley’s Best Friend (Puffin) has swiped the UK Official Top 50 number one spot from David Walliams’ Fing (HarperCollins), shifting 72,782 copies through Nielsen BookScan’s Total Consumer Market. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-03-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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London Book Fair’s International Excellence Awards Honor ‘Publishing To Build a Better World’

Even as the UK Parliament was compounding the UK's confusion on Brexit at Westminster Tuesday evening, the London Book Fair International Book Awards audience cheered internationalism and cross-cultural solidarity in the largest yet round of honors for the program. The post London Book Fair’s... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2019-03-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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London Book Fair 2019: Four Questions for...Richard Charkin

Charkin’s new venture, Mensch Publishing, officially launched last month with Guy Kennaway’s darkly funny memoir 'Time to Go.' PW caught up with Charkin ahead of the 2019 London Book Fair to talk about his new turn as an indie publisher—and the simple question that inspired him to take the leap. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-03-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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London Book Fair 2019: Why the Story of Our Networked World Is a Story of Upheaval

In his new book, former F.C.C. Chariman Tom Wheeler deftly explores 500 years of network revolutions, and offers an invaluable take on the challenges we now face. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-03-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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France’s BIEF Hit by London Book Fair Transit Delays in Calais’ Brexit Protests

As France's international publishing agency struggles to get its collective stand and books to London in time, the UK's French Institute plans more shows of solidarité in the British capital. The post France’s BIEF Hit by London Book Fair Transit Delays in Calais’ Brexit Protests appeared first... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2019-03-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Canongate snaps up world rights to Hall's new book

Canongate will publish Stephen Hall's new book, Maxwell's Demon, in February 2020, with a six-figure pre-empt in the US. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-03-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Tim Peake and 10 Downing Street celebrate World Book Day

Downing Street has welcomed 30 schoolchildren to share a story to celebrate today’s (7th March) World Book Day, whilst astronaut Tim Peake is marking the day with a video encouraging children to read. The children visiting 10 Down Street spent the morning reading and drawing along with authors... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-03-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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