Non-fiction 04 Jul 2005 01:54 pm
Geeks
Geeks
Jon Katz
In this book, Jon Katz, writer for Wired, Hotwired, Slashdot and others, tells the story of two teenage boys from Idaho who, through their geekyness, go out into the world and build a new life for themselves in the big city (Chicago).
Granted, this all happened in the good old days of the Internet boom, when geeks were even more valued by the corporate world than today. Still, with the help (not always intentional) of the author, the two boys manage to move out of their dead-end lives in the middle of nowhere and into a very different world.
Their geekyness is the defining factor in their lives: in Idaho they have no friends, no peers, no one with whom they can talk about the things that are important to them. Every day, they are ostracised, taunted and assaulted by jocks and other “popular” kids because they are different. The first clue they get that being different is not necessarily bad comes from one teacher who helps them set up the “Geek Club”. Afterwards, when the author finds them, they are already proud of being geeks, and spend most of their time out of school and work online.
The book ends on a very intense note due to the massacre at the Columbine High School, which caused politicians and school administrators all over the USA to pick even more on geeks, goths and any other kid that didn’t “fit”. The author, through his writings on Slashdot (and personal e-mails), helped countless young kids to deal with the situation and even to “enlighten” their parents and/or teachers.
It is a book about geeks, but not only for geeks. An excelent read.
