Information Seeking in Electronic Environment

an audience of business and government leaders, presenting to them a tapestry of general engineering issues to face and overcome if the blueprint for the future network is to be passed through this brief window of opportunity. The powerful message is woven too subtly through the main body of the work; consequently the chance to raise critical social and historical issues to buttress the book's theme is missed. The plan is provided before the purpose, without the strong threads between them clearly shown. Will readers of Information Processing & Management find this book worth the time and work required to give to it its full due? This reviewer believes it merits the effort. Heldman is a veteran of the industry, is deeply knowledgeable, and is presenting a bold and carefully reasoned plan for an extraordinarily important undertaking. The book submits as coherent and visionary a blueprint for the coming information millennium as this reviewer has seen. The topics are current, the perspective is refreshingly far-sighted, and the details are included. As the reviewer began reading the book, the Telecommunications Reform Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-104) was signed into law. Will this legislation help or hinder the formation of SONET? Will users have a voice in the outcome? Will broadband emerge above the din of broadcast? These are interesting times, as signal events that are setting the stage for centuries to come unfurl. Can civilization advance by cultivating th.e growth of electronic commerce and communications through at least the next generation? Put differently, can we afford not to? Heldman's message is worth heeding. This is one tale of suspense, however, where it is advisable to peek at the ending before reading on.