Congratulations to James Gleick, winner of the 2011 PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award, presented by Dava Sobel. From L to R: James Gleick, Dava Sobel, Michael Carlisle.
The Judges wrote in their citation:
“The Information by James Gleick takes control of a grand history, a complex theory, and the rising flood of data inundating the world. The book begins with the naming of a new marvel, the transistor, and the
introduction of a new unit of measure, the bit. From there, chapters travel through time, charting the whole range of inventions and insights that contributed to the packing and unpacking of information. In vivid, epigrammatic prose, this remarkably ambitious book weaves together topics as varied as African drum language, cuneiform tablets, almanacs and dictionaries, codes and algorithms, telegraphy and telephony, brains and branes, DNA, and quantum mechanics. Written with rigor and élan, The Information is a masterful explication of the world we live in now.”CONGRATULATIONS!
Here’s a photo of James Gleick author of The Information.
And here is video footage from James Gleick’s visit to Darien Library May 23. I’d also like to mention that Charles C. Mann was on the award committee. He also visited Darien Library this year.
