The growth of the internet has been spectacular. There are now more 1.5 billion internet users across the globe, about one quarter of the world's population. This is certainly a new phenomenon that is of enormous significance for the economic, political and social life of contemporary societies. However, much popular and academic writing about the internet takes a technologically deterministic view, assuming that the internet's potential will be realised in essentially transformative ways. This was especially true in the euphoric moment of the mid-1990s, when many commentators wrote about the internet with awe and wonderment. While this moment may be over, its underlying technocentrism - the belief that technology determines outcomes - lingers on, and with it, a failure to understand the internet in its social, economic and political context. Misunderstanding the Internet is a short introduction, encompassing the history, sociology, politics and economics of the internet and its impact on society. The book has a simple three part structure: Part 1 looks at the history of the internet, and offers an overview of the internet's place in society Part 2 focuses on the control and economics of the internet Part 3 examines the internet's political and cultural influence Misunderstanding the Internet is a polemical, sociologically and historically informed textbook that aims to challenge both popular myths and existing academic orthodoxies around the internet.

詹姆斯•柯兰 伦敦大学戈尔德史密斯学院（也译作金匠学院）传播学教授、戈尔德史密斯－利华休姆媒介研究中心主任，撰写或编著了21种媒介研究的著作，要者有《不需承担责任的权力》（Power without Responsibility）、《媒介与社会》（Media and Society）、《媒介与权力》（Media and Power），均多次重印，并有五种语言的译本；曾任加利福尼亚大学、宾夕法尼亚大学、斯坦福大学、奥斯陆大学、斯德哥尔摩大学访问学者；2011年因媒介、市场和民主研究的学术成就而获埃德温•贝克奖。

娜塔莉•芬顿 伦敦大学戈尔德史密斯学院传播学教授、戈尔德史密斯－利华休姆媒介研究中心负责人之一，研究重点为媒介的空间、联系和控制以及全球媒介和民主；论著重点为媒介、政治和新媒介；尤其有志于公共文化、公共领域和民主的再思考。

德斯•弗里德曼 伦敦大学戈尔德史密斯学院传播学高级讲师，著有《媒介政策的政治》（The Politics of Media Policy），与人合编《媒介与恐怖主义：全球视角》（Media and Terrorism: Global Perspectives），任《全球媒介与传播》（Global Media and Communication）杂志编辑、哥尔德史密斯－利华休姆媒介研究中心研究员。