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In part, Geeks describes
the author's initial online email encounter with two young men from a
small Idaho town. These two young men, rebels in a very
conservative community, find friends, education and entertainment on
their computers and the Internet. Through their Internet
connection, they meet Jon Katz (an author whose work has appeared in Wired,
Rolling Stone, and Slashdot,
to name but a few publications off and online). Wanting to do an
interview, Katz goes to visit the young men, Jesse and Eric, in Caldwell
Idaho.
From an initially impersonal
meeting to what ultimately becomes growing friendship between Jon and
the two young men, the author brings us into Jesse and Eric's
lives. We follow them on their move from Caldwell to Illinois, and
we watch as they find their own paths in a much more liberal atmosphere.
Katz also introduces us to the
fast-growing Internet Geek culture. He guides us into a world of
misunderstood young people who are doing amazing things with computers
and the Internet, and causes the reader to realize that without geeks,
the world might very well come to a screeching halt, so dependent are we
upon their technical know-how. It is the Geeks who are making the
technological advances that make our lives easier. They are not to
be ostracized or mocked. They are to be praised and thanked.
The reader, no matter what age,
will very likely find parallels to his or her own life in these
pages. At least the reader will be left with something to think
about. This book is a must read.
This book contains adult
language, but not in a gratuitous sense. I would be comfortable
with my 16 year old son reading it, in fact, I have encouraged him to do
so.
On a personal note, I
found Geeks to be an amazing book. Mr. Katz could very well
have been describing my own experiences throughout public school, though I
graduated high school nearly 20 years ago, before personal computers and
the Internet.
I was reminded of the peer
pressure and torment that makes so many of us victims of our own
education. I was reminded of many of the situations which aided my
son's father and I in deciding that homeschooling was best for our son.
Homeschooling has allowed our son to be as much of a Geek as he wants,
without fear of harassment.
(Also on this website: an article
by Jon Katz, author of the above-reviewed book. Geek
Profiling)
by
Reverend Kurokami
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