The emperor's virtual clothes

The Emperor's Virtual Clothes offers a funny, cranky, no-nonsense tour of the Internet world for those people who aren't sure they want an E-mail address, and aren't certain what good it will do them. From "flame wars" to "spamming," from "cybersex" to hackers and terrorists, author Dinty Moore (someone more at home with ballpoint pens than computer keyboards) explains how he learned to stop worrying and love the electronic culture.

As Moore makes his whimsical way through the twists and turns of the Internet, the Web, and other nooks and crannies of the wired world, he discovers an unlikely spiritual guide: the quintessential American crank, Henry David Thoreau. Inspired by Thoreau's distrust of the newfangled, Moore sets out to simplify, simplify, simplify - to boil down all the technology and innovation until it makes sense.

If you're intimidated by the jargon and whizbang gadgetry of the Internet, he helps you see that much of what goes on there is more silly than threatening. If you are interested and excited by the prospect of being "wired," you'll find his commonsense questions both entertaining and provocative.