Public Feminism in Times of Crisis
Taking an interdisciplinary approach, this week's review uncovers the connections between present and past displays of public feminism.
Posted on in Review of the Week
Money Code Space
Bitcoin? Dogecoin? Who can keep it straight? This week's review dives into the business infrastructure behind blockchain technology and its existing (and future) economic, political, and social effects
Posted on May 10, 2021 in Review of the Week
Money Code Space: Hidden Power in Bitcoin, Blockchain, and Decentralisation
Parkin, Jack. Oxford, 2020
304p bibl index, 9780197515082 $29.95, 9780197515112
Parkin (Western Sydney Univ.) provides in-depth discussion of blockchain technologies, applications, and political/social issues. True, blockchain is a relatively new technology that transforms existing technologies supporting our current economic and political models. It is hard to think of any technology more impactful than distributed ledgers, protected by complex mathematics. Parkin does a fabulous job presenting the multipart aspect of the technology, including its components interacting with aspects of economic structures. Some elements of blockchain are not straightforward, and are still evolving by design. This is a central theme in many chapters of the book. Unsurprisingly, cryptocurrencies—which may be the most crucial products supported by blockchain—receive much attention. The reader will also find a significant historical, legal, and social context around the dynamics of blockchain’s distributed protocols. The impact of blockchain on business, finance, or politics cannot be overestimated. One of the most critical aspects of this book, not discussed in many other resources, is its discussion of the actual software that constitutes a blockchain’s backbone. Parkin shows how the code is maintained and updated for an online repository. Generally, among the many books on bitcoin, this is one of the most valuable, in that it reveals the opportunities and dangers of a technology that is indeed here to stay.
Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers.
Reviewer: J. Brzezinski, McHenry County College
Subject: Social & Behavioral Sciences – Business, Management & Labor
Choice Issue: Jul 2021
Enjoy this week’s review? Check out more reviews of Business, Management & Labor titles:
- Startup Cities: Why Only a Few Cities Dominate the Global Startup Scene and What the Rest Should Do About It
- From Main Street to Mall: The Rise and Fall of the American Department Store
- Eyes on Labor: News Photography and America’s Working Class
- Workers on Arrival: Black Labor in the Making of America
Related Posts
-
-
Counter-narratives of Muslim American Women
Examining the prevalence of Islamophobia in education, this week's review "underscores the need for MusCrit" as a subset of critical race theory
Posted on in Review of the Week
-
Spinsters, Widows and Chars
Catch the Oscars last night? This week's review analyzes how aging women are depicted in British cinema.
Posted on in Review of the Week
-
Women, Subalterns, and Ecologies in South and Southeast Asian Women’s Fiction
Happy Women's History Month! This week's review analyzes South and Southeast Asian women's fiction, uncovering the "relationships between the human, animal, and nonhuman in the face of eco-disasters and climate crises."
Posted on in Review of the Week