"A digital-culture expert who writes for The New York Times Magazine discusses the logic, aesthetics, cultural potential and societal impact of the Internet, a medium that favors speed, accuracy, wit, prolificacy and versatility,"--NoveList.

Cultural critic Virginia Heffernan illuminates the logic, aesthetics, and mysteries of the Internet. Heffernan sees the digital revolution as one of the great developments of human civilization. Magic and Loss travels the roads of digital culture, as well as many of its back alleys, to find a world with its own logic, its own rhythms, its own ideology, and its own culture. Brilliantly cataloging and critically describing basic human experiences--talking to a friend on the phone, walking down a sidewalk, listening to music, reading a book--Heffernan charts how the Internet has made magic of so many of our aesthetic experiences. But she also points out how the physical and emotional experience of the world we knew live, ten, twenty years ago is vanishing. Where there's magic, there's also loss. This witty, erudite, and intellectually thrilling book dares to find meaning--and even beauty--in the digital revolution.--Adapted from dust jacket.