As promised in the last post, I’ve put together what you might think of as a “best of” collection—The Frailest Thing: Ten Years of Thinking About the Meaning of Technology.

It is an e-book consisting of 100 entries written over the span of this blog’s history. These entries amount to a little over 10% of what I wrote here over the years. I think they still hold up pretty well. Of course, a few of these are quite recent.

The e-book is now available for download via Gumroad in three file formats that should cover everyone. You’ll note that I’ve left the pricing altogether up to you. You are welcome to download the collection at no cost or you may decide to pay something for it if you’re so inclined. That’s your call … I know you’ll do the right thing [winks awkwardly].

In any case, the e-book is there for the taking, and I do hope you’ll take it. If you do, consider leaving a rating on Gumroad. Also, please do feel free and encouraged to let others know about it however you see fit.

Penultimately, I’m immensely grateful to Evan Selinger for his generous praise of this collection, which I’ll share here.

“If there ever was anything like the golden age of blogging, that time has passed. As a sign of the times, Michael Sacasas is no longer writing “The Frailest Thing,” a blog that ran for a decade and played a fundamental role in shaping how I, and so many others, made sense of the changing technological landscape and the place of humanity within it. While so much online commentary oozes outrage and snark, Sacasas chose to follow a different path. Motivated by curiosity, tempered by reverence for the value of history, and committed to patiently unpacking nuanced issues concerning aesthetic, moral, political, and religious values, Sacasas established himself as the public philosopher of technology. This collection of 100 posts is a testament to Sacasas’s rare ability to have thought aloud online without presenting quick-takes that have short shelf-lives. It’s truly a gem that means as much today as when each of the posts was authored. I can’t recommend it highly enough.”

– Evan Selinger, Prof. Philosophy, Rochester Institute of Technology

Here, too, are Nick Carr’s comments:

“For more than ten years, Michael Sacasas has been one of the most penetrating and stimulating critics of digital technology, probing its social, personal, and moral consequences. This book, which brings together his best work, is essential for anyone seeking to understand the human condition today.”

— Nicholas Carr, author of The Shallows and The Glass Cage

Lastly, a word about the future of this site. It will remain up indefinitely, although I may prune it just a bit. I may also occasionally post a note about speaking engagements, but otherwise this will be it.

Many of you have already done so, but just in case:  do subscribe to The Convivial Society!

Cheers, and, as always, thanks for reading,

Michael