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How the Internet Really Works | No Starch Press

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pp.</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-isbn13 field-type-text field-label-inline clearfix clearfix"><div class="field-label">ISBN-13:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">9781718500297</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-special field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Hardcover</div></div></div><div class="add-to-cart"><form action="/how-internet-really-works" method="post" id="uc-product-add-to-cart-form-543" accept-charset="UTF-8"><div><div id="uc_product_add_to_cart_form-543-attributes" class="attributes"><div class="attribute attribute-1 odd"><div class="form-item form-item-attributes-1 form-type-radios form-group"><div id="edit-attributes-1" class="form-radios"><div class="form-item form-item-attributes-1 form-type-radio radio"> <label class="control-label" for="edit-attributes-1-3"><input type="radio" id="edit-attributes-1-3" name="attributes[1]" value="3" 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field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="menu-wrapper"><ul class="menu nav"><li><a href="#content">Contents</a></li><li><a href="#reviews">Reviews</a></li><li><a href="#updates">Updates</a></li></ul></div></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><b>Look Inside!</b></p> <div class="lookinside" style:=""> <a href="/images/HIRW_Mockup.jpg" class="colorbox"><img src="/images/HIRW_Mockup.jpg" title="How Internet Really Works Image" alt="How Internet Really Works Image" style="border:1px solid; margin:5px; width:77px; height:102px; object-fit:cover;" /></a><a href="/images/how-the-internet-really-works_backcover.jpg" class="colorbox"><img src="/images/how-the-internet-really-works_backcover.jpg" title="Cover" alt="How Internet Really Works" style="border:1px solid; margin:5px; height:102px;" /></a><a href="/images/HIRW_p6-7.jpg" class="colorbox"><img src="/images/HIRW_p6-7.jpg" title="Pages6-7" alt="How Internet Really Works" style="border:1px solid; margin:5px; height:102px;" /></a><a href="/images/HIRW_18-19.jpg" class="colorbox"><img src="/images/HIRW_18-19.jpg" title="Pages18-19" alt="How Internet Really Works Pg 18" style="border:1px solid; margin:5px; height:102px;" /></a><a href="/images/HIRW_p28-29.jpg" class="colorbox"><img src="/images/HIRW_p28-29.jpg" title="Pages 28-29" alt="How Internet Really Works page 28" style="border:1px solid; margin:5px; height:102px; object-fit:cover;" /></a><a href="/images/HIRW_p62-63.jpg" class="colorbox"><img src="/images/HIRW_p62-63.jpg" title="Pages 62-63" alt="How Internet Really Works Pg 62" style="border:1px solid; margin:5px; height:102px;" /></a><a href="/images/HIRW_p80-81.jpg" class="colorbox"><img src="/images/HIRW_p80-81.jpg" title="Pages 80-81" alt="How Internet Really Works Pg 80" style="border:1px solid; margin:5px; height:102px; object-fit:cover;" /></a> </div> <p><b>The Internet, Demystified</b></p> <p>The internet has profoundly changed interpersonal communication, but most of us don’t really understand how it works. What enables information to travel across the internet? Can we really be anonymous and private online? Who controls the internet, and why is that important? And… what’s with all the cats?</p> <p><i>How the Internet Really Works</i> answers these questions and more. Using clear language and whimsical illustrations, the authors translate highly technical topics into accessible, engaging prose that demystifies the world’s most intricately linked computer network. Alongside a feline guide named Catnip, you’ll learn about:</p> <ul> <li>The “How-What-Why” of nodes, packets, and internet protocols </li><li>Cryptographic techniques to ensure the secrecy and integrity of your data </li><li>Censorship, ways to monitor it, and means for circumventing it </li><li>Cybernetics, algorithms, and how computers make decisions </li><li>Centralization of internet power, its impact on democracy, and how it hurts human rights </li><li>Internet governance, and ways to get involved </li></ul> <p>This book is also a call to action, laying out a roadmap for using your newfound knowledge to influence the evolution of digitally inclusive, rights-respecting internet laws and policies.</p> <p>Whether you’re a citizen concerned about staying safe online, a civil servant seeking to address censorship, an advocate addressing worldwide freedom of expression issues, or simply someone with a cat-like curiosity about network infrastructure, you will be delighted — and enlightened — by Catnip’s felicitously fun guide to understanding how the internet really works!</p> <p><b>Read our <a href="https://nostarch.com/blog/womens-history-month-spotlight-deal-2" target="_blank" style="text-decoration:underline;">Q&amp;A</a> with two of the book's co-authors!</b></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author-bio field-type-text-long field-label-abovec"><div class="field-label">Author Bio&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><b>ARTICLE 19</b> is an international non-profit organization that seeks to promote, develop, and protect freedom of expression, including access to information. Headquartered in London, with offices in Bangladesh, Brazil, Kenya, Mexico, Senegal, Tunisia, Myanmar, and the USA, ARTICLE 19 works to bridge the knowledge gap about Internet infrastructure and why it matters for people.</p> <p><b>Contributors:</b><br /> Ulrike Uhlig, Mallory Knodel, Niels ten Oever, Corinne Cath</p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-toc field-type-text-long field-label-abovec" id="content"><div class="field-label">Table of contents&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><b>Chapter 1:</b> How Is the Internet Networked?<br /> <b>Chapter 2:</b> What Form Does Information Take on the Internet?<br /> <b>Chapter 3:</b> How Do Devices Communicate on the Internet?<br /> <b>Chapter 4:</b> How Does Information Travel on the Internet?<br /> <b>Chapter 5:</b> How Do People Relate to Information on the Internet?<br /> <b>Chapter 6:</b> What Can Interfere with Information Traveling Across the Internet?<br /> <b>Chapter 7:</b> How Can Information Travel Anonymously over the Internet?<br /> <b>Chapter 8:</b> What Control Do Machines Have?<br /> <b>Chapter 9:</b> How Does the Internet Build on Previous Technology?<br /> <b>Chapter 10:</b> Who Controls the Internet?<br /> <b>Chapter 11:</b> How Is Power Distributed over the Decentralized Internet?<br /> <b>Chapter 12:</b> How Can Civil Society Engage in Internet Governance?<br /> <b>Notes</b><br /> <b>Keyword Index</b></p> <p><a href="/download/samples/HowTheInternetReallyWorks_TOC.pdf" target="_blank"><b>View the detailed Table of Contents</b></a><br /> <a href="/download/samples/HowTheInternetReallyWorks_Index.pdf" target="_blank"><b>View the Keyword Index</b></a></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-reviews field-type-text-long field-label-abovec" id="reviews"><div class="field-label">Reviews&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>"Comprehensive and presents the subject well. It will be very helpful to all people doing IME, digital literacy training, and other educational activities."<br /> <b>—<a href="https://www.bortzmeyer.org/how-the-internet-really-works.html" target="_blank" style="text-decoration:underline;">Stephane Bortzmeyer</a></b></p> <p>"In <i>How the Internet Really Works</i> . . . the reader gets a short, interesting, and entertaining overview of the Internet . . . in a jargon-free style."<br /> <b>—Ben Rothke, Senior Information Security Manager, Tapad</b></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-extra-stuff field-type-text-long field-label-abovec"><div class="field-label">Extra Stuff&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/13/technology/racist-computer-engineering-terms-ietf.html" target="_blank" style="text-decoration:underline;color:#3498db">The New York Times</a> discussed contributors Mallory Knodel and Niels Ten Oever's work in a piece on updating computing language.</p> <p>Watch the authors read a chapter of the book for <a href="https://podcastaddict.com/episode/115146696" target="_blank" style="text-decoration:underline;color:#3498db">Privacy Week</a>.</p> <p>Check out contributor Mallory Knodel's interview on KOOP Radio's <a href="https://archive.org/details/people-united-2023-02-10" target="_blank" style="text-decoration:underline;color:#3498db">People United</a> podcast.</p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-updates field-type-text-long field-label-abovec" id="updates"><div class="field-label">Updates&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>View the <a href="/download/HowInternetWorks_errata_p2.pdf" target="_blank" style="text-decoration:underline;"><u><b>latest errata</b></u></a>.</p> </div></div></div> </div> </div> </section> <section id="block-shariff-shariff-block" class="block block-shariff clearfix"> <div class="shariff" data-services="[&quot;facebook&quot;,&quot;print&quot;,&quot;twitter&quot;]" data-theme="colored" data-orientation="horizontal" data-twitter-via="nostarch" data-lang="en"></div> </section> </div> </section> <aside class="col-sm-3" role="complementary"> <div class="region region-sidebar-second"> <section id="block-system-navigation" class="block block-system block-menu clearfix"> <h2 class="block-title">Navigation</h2> <ul class="menu nav"><li class="first last leaf"><a href="/user" title="">My account</a></li> </ul> </section> <section id="block-block-52" class="block block-block clearfix"> <p><a href="/mailchimp/subscribe">Want sweet deals? 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