James W. Cortada Book order

Focusing on the concept of information ecosystems, the author explores their historical significance and relevance across various disciplines, including business and sociology. The book delves into theoretical and historiographical discussions, highlighting the value of information infrastructures. It aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of how information shapes societal dynamics and its implications for different fields of study.

The book encourages readers to reflect on the rapid rise of computing technology and its profound impact on our lives. It prompts a critical examination of our dependency on technology and invites contemplation about the future direction of this evolution. By fostering awareness, it seeks to engage readers in a meaningful dialogue about the implications of our technological advancements.

Focusing on the evolution of political fact-checking, the book explores its role within the broader context of online scrutiny. It traces the historical presence of "fake facts" in America, detailing significant milestones from the rise of the public Internet in the 1990s to the onset of the Trump-Clinton presidential election campaigns. Through this examination, it highlights the ongoing challenges and implications of misinformation in the political landscape.

Exploring the pervasive impact of misinformation, this book delves into over two centuries of false narratives that have shaped American history. It reveals how deceitful information has swayed public opinion, instigated wars, obscured critical events like assassinations, and influenced significant national elections and policy debates, including those on smoking and climate change. Through historical examples, the authors illuminate the ongoing struggle against fake news in American society.

The book delves into the evolution of the data processing industry in the U.S. from its 19th-century origins to the rise of computers. James Cortada reexamines the perception of computers as revolutionary, framing them instead as a continuation of the office appliance industry, which included typewriters and adding machines. Utilizing previously inaccessible archives, he provides insights into IBM's history and offers corporate overviews of companies like NCR and Burroughs. The work also includes comparative perspectives from Europe and Asia, highlighting the industry's significant economic influence.

While we have been preoccupied with the latest i-gadget from Apple and with Google's ongoing expansion, we may have missed something: the fundamental transformation of whole firms and industries into giant information-processing machines. Today, more than eighty percent of workers collect and analyze information (often in digital form) in the course of doing their jobs. This book offers a guide to the role of information in modern business, mapping the use of information within work processes and tracing flows of information across supply-chain management, product development, customer relations, and sales. The emphasis is on information itself, not on information technology. Information, overshadowed for a while by the glamour and novelty of IT, is the fundamental component of the modern corporation. In this book, the author a longtime IBM manager and consultant clarifies the differences among data, facts, information, and knowledge and describes how the art of analytics has all but eliminated decision making based on gut feeling, replacing it with fact-based decisions. He describes the working style of "road warriors," whose offices are anywhere their laptops and cell phones are and whose deep knowledge of a given topic becomes their medium of exchange. Information is the core of the modern enterprise, and the use of information defines the activities of a firm. This guide shows managers and employees better ways to leverage information, by design and not by accident

During the Spanish Civil War, foreign military officers wrote highly elaborate reports of their experiences at the front. One was attache Col. Stephen O. Fuqua of the U.S. Army, who had once held the rank of major general. His presence was highly unusual, for most military observers were less-experienced captains, majors, and lieutenant colonels.

Focusing on the political history of Catalonia, the book traces its development as a distinct society and kingdom up to 1035. It posits that regionalism in Europe has deep roots, extending back two millennia, and explores how medieval issues continue to influence contemporary Spanish politics. Through this examination, it highlights the enduring nature of regional identities and their significance in the political landscape of the Iberian Peninsula.