Michael Lewis checks in with what comes after The New New Thing.
8/27/2001
When Internet stocks came a-tumbling down, so did opinions of the Web as an instrument for social change. Suddenly, the Internet was just another technology with, perhaps, some interesting applications. Business writer Lewis, author of the best seller, The New New Thing, wishes to restore the Internet's reputation as a tool of revolution. As usual, Lewis scores with a highly readable and spirited look at what the Internet has wrought: a potential weapon for toppling the established power holders. (Example A: Teen Jonathan Lebed, who used the PC in his bedroom to plunge the stock market into chaos). But Lewis overreaches with the fervor of the true believer. Will the Internet really lead us to a democratic and egalitarian world? Read Next for the ride, not for the social philosophy.