Internet Babylon: Secrets, Scandals, and Shocks on the Information Superhighway (Paperback)

Unlike most of us, Holden didn't just wander willy-nilly all over the Internet - well, maybe he did, but he put together a well-organized book that breaks his subject down into six parts spread across twenty chapters. First up is The Rich and (In)famous. Here you can read all about the online doings of celebrities, serial killers, has-beens and wannabes. Holden will lead you to the Partridge Family Temple, introduce you to the unique musical stylings of Star Trek actors, and point you to refreshers on Manson Family Values.

Next up is The Afterlife. On the Internet, nothing truly dies. You can explore the mysterious deaths of Elvis and other celebrities, become a knowledgeable amateur sleuth hot on the trail of Jack the Ripper, the Zodiac killer, and other inhuman monsters, help look for ghosts via webcam in haunted buildings, and even watch a body decompose inside a coffin - actually, that last idea fell through, but it's sure to happen eventually. In case you want to get religion before you take your own one step beyond, the Internet puts a wide variety of "religions" at your fingertips. Of course, with the good comes the bad, and the Internet does, unfortunately, have a dark underbelly of criminality and evil; in the section Bad Boys and Naughty Girls, Holden gives you the scoop on famous hackers and their exploits, viruses and their creators, and the cretins who curse us all with unwanted spam. He basically takes you on a guided tour of the dark side of the World Wide Web.

As we all know, the Internet has revolutionized politics, and Holden devotes three fascinating chapters to political intrigue, scandals, and government secrets online. In the past, politicians could keep their perverted behavior secret from the public, but the Internet has changed all that - just ask Bill Clinton. In this online age, rumors and scandals can be spread across the entire world in a matter of minutes, and Holden shows us how, long before Rather-gate, the Internet has at times shaped the content of traditional journalism (as well as supplying us with some of the funniest jokes and parodies known to man).

Anyone who browses the Internet soon learns that there are people out there who will do anything to get attention, and those with some sort of self-styled mission will stop at nothing to get their points across. This is the realm of flame wars, denial of service attacks, as well as really, really silly web sites you can't believe anyone would ever think of creating. The unlikeliest of Internet heroes are honored in this section: the Amazing Mahir of "I Kiss You!!!!!" fame, the Star Wars Kid (one of my personal favorites), the man who invented the Smiley symbol, and many others. It all wraps up with a look at Big (And Not So Big) Business. Remember the Pets.com Sock Puppet, who enjoyed much more success than Pets.com ever did? That's just one dot-com disaster story; here, you will learn about some of the worst Internet business plans ever put together.

Believe me, I have only scratched the surface of the material covered in this book. Internet Babylon is chock full of fascinating, oftentimes hilarious stories (and pictures) of the continually surprising "sites" and sounds the Internet has brought to life. You'll learn a little bit about the creation and evolution of the Internet, but mostly you'll revel in all the crazy online manifestations Holden holds under the microscope.

Let me close with a word of warning. I know you'll want to take a gander at many of the sites Holden refers to throughout this book, so I just want to advise you to proceed carefully - as this fascinating book proves, you can find absolutely anything out there online, and some of it ain't pretty.

The book is organized into six parts as follows:

The Rich and the (In)Famous (family perspectives including how Rush Limbaugh met his wife on the Internet, has-beens and their sites, and those involved in scandals)

The Afterlife (unsolved mysteries including the identity of Jack the Ripper and the Watergate "Deep Throat", coffin cams, and religious sites including those for saints)

Bad Boys and Naughty Girls (hackers, spammers, Jeffrey Dahmer, and caterpillar web sites)

Big Brother Is Watching (political commentary, government secrets and attempts to control dissident sites)

Did You Hear the One About . . . ? (on-line shaming, hate groups hijacked, silly sites, the unintended effects of passing along gossip in e-mails and Internet legends)

Big (and Not So Big) Business (origins of e-commerce and new forms of art?)

Much of the material is at least mildly interesting. I would have enjoyed the book more if it had focused on just the best material and had been briefer. The reproductions of the on-line images are often difficult to decipher which made some of the stories have less impact than they might.

If the book weren't so heavy, it would be good for skimming during an airplane ride. As it is, you might save it for a night when you have insomnia and there's nothing good on cable television.