Readings
Sunday, April 20, 2003

All the Rave (Crown Business) is a richly reported behind-the-scenes account of the rise and fall of Napster Inc., the online music-swapping phenomenon. As author Joseph Menn tells it, this was largely a sordid family tale in which teenager Shawn Fanning, Napster's creator, was undone not only by recording industry lawsuits but also by an erratic and powerful uncle. It's engaging reading about society-changing technology, thorny and still-unresolved legal issues, and a bunch of people who were in way over their heads.

-- Jonathan Krim

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