From the invention of scripts and alphabets to the long misunderstood "talking drums" of Africa, James Gleick tells the story of information technologies that changed the very nature of human consciousness. He also provides portraits of the key figures contributing to the inexorable development of our modern understanding of information, including Charles Babbage, Ada Byron, Samuel Morse, Alan Turing, and Claude Shannon.

Drums that talk -- Persistence of the word -- Two wordbooks -- To throw the powers of thought into wheel-work -- A nervous system for the Earth -- New wires, new logic -- Information theory -- The informational turn -- Entropy and its demons -- Life's own code -- Into the meme pool -- The sense of randomness -- Information is physical -- After the flood -- New news every day.