July 7, 2009

Book 34: The Anarchist in the Library

The Anarchist in the Library
Siva Vaidhyanathan

The problem with so much nonfiction lies not in the ideas it espouses but the ways in which those ideas are presented, often with academic arrogance, disjointed ideas, and unexciting writing. Unfortunately, Siva Vaidhyanathan falls prey to all of these vices in The Anarchist in the Library, a book intended to be a jarring look at how anarchistic principles govern the Internet and information sharing systems in the real world. Instead, the book becomes a jumble of interesting, if poorly presented, ideas and grand pronouncements the author hilariously seemed to miss when declaring modesty in the book's concluding chapter. The book wisely begins with cursory definitions of anarchy and Cynicism (in the Greek philosophy sense) but almost immediately goes astray when these are presented in a confusing manner that presumes knowledge on the reader's part while attempting to serve as an introduction to the ideas in question. Things get more confusing from there as Vaidhyanathan continuously points out anarchy in systems but leaves it only as a label, taking it only at face value and failing to connect the dots or examine how the supposed anarchy is affecting the systems in question. This failure is also present at a mroe general level; it is possible to see what Vaidhyanathan is getting at in his discussion of anarchy and the rampant digital distribution of unauthorized free songs or the nuanced problems copyright (on which he appears to be an expert), but his discussion of the WTO and the People's Republic of China is a bit more obtuse and simply exists without any explanatory threads to connect it to the other ideas in the book.

It isn't that Vaidhyanathan's ideas aren't interesting or provocative; on the contrary, presented more coherently they could form a powerful manifesto about the digital age. The problem is that The Anarchist in the Library is far too concerned with naming systems and practices that promote or disrupt the reigning oligarchies and not nearly concerned enough with explaining how this is happening, why he calls it anarchy, or why it's important. Some overall themes are hinted at in the book's conclusion but they are far too little and come far too late. It is interesting, and perhaps fitting, that Vaidhyanathan's book seems to mirror the systems he describes within: it is a loose connection of ideas presented here, there, and everywhere with only the slightest hint of any editorial oversight. Some are excellent and well-presented (his discussion about copyright is engaging and well presented) while many are confusing and unnecessarily alarmist. In that sense, there's a kind of anarchy in this book, a collection of interesting ideas that just kind of float there and would benefit from some higher control, the kind of control Vaidhyanathan is consistently suspicious of in his book. Ironic, eh?

Grade: C

1 comment:

Siva Vaidhyanathan said...

I am terribly sorry. I will try to do better with my next book.

-- Siva