Scan barcode
Reviews
The Truth Machine: The Blockchain and the Future of Everything by Michael J. Casey, Paul Vigna
kevenwang's review against another edition
4.0
Decent introductory reading for anyone wants to know more about blockchain. It hinted on the rise of NFTs
bootman's review against another edition
5.0
Much like Blockchain Revolution, this is an incredible book explaining how the blockchain can help change the world for good. It covers topics such as security, how it will level out equality, and more importantly what it can do for lower-class citizens. What made this book different from others I've read is that it really took the time to dive into the possibilities of what the blockchain can do for people, and it made me really hopeful for our future.
docjh's review against another edition
2.0
Nothing in this book a person couldn’t learn from reading a handful of blogs, articles and a little documentation.
rick2's review against another edition
1.0
Yuck. Authors misconstrue facts to suit their purposes. Most of the examples are really poorly thought out. And what emerges is a sort of echo chamber book that might resemble the conversation you and your friends had about why you all bet on dogecoin circa 2019.
For example, the authors lead into the book with The idea that public trust has eroded in large institutions. Fair enough. But they make the bold statement that it all started with the collapse of Lehman Brothers. What? Everyone knows that the erosion of trust started after the failure of Bee Movie. That box office flop was the catalyst for my lack of faith in what been an unshakable faith in the entertainment industry. But really? No discussion of Vietnam, Nixon? Lack of faith in large institutions didn’t start in 2008. If you want to get real patriotic for a second, point to 1776. There’s better examples but the authors lack of effort, or editing, or whatever make it so that this book is basically nonsense.
There’s also this discussion of how people trust the ratings on Uber and that’s how a decentralized system really works. But it totally misses the point that Uber is the central hub that all of these ratings go through. If you have a problem you can call or talk to someone in the customer support wing of that organization. This example is so bad that it actually contradicts the point the author is trying to make.
The rest of the book is a combination of fluff and similarly bad examples. I’m actually increasingly becoming pro blockchain as I see more used cases for the technology, but this book is a terrible advocate and representation for the tech.
For example, the authors lead into the book with The idea that public trust has eroded in large institutions. Fair enough. But they make the bold statement that it all started with the collapse of Lehman Brothers. What? Everyone knows that the erosion of trust started after the failure of Bee Movie. That box office flop was the catalyst for my lack of faith in what been an unshakable faith in the entertainment industry. But really? No discussion of Vietnam, Nixon? Lack of faith in large institutions didn’t start in 2008. If you want to get real patriotic for a second, point to 1776. There’s better examples but the authors lack of effort, or editing, or whatever make it so that this book is basically nonsense.
There’s also this discussion of how people trust the ratings on Uber and that’s how a decentralized system really works. But it totally misses the point that Uber is the central hub that all of these ratings go through. If you have a problem you can call or talk to someone in the customer support wing of that organization. This example is so bad that it actually contradicts the point the author is trying to make.
The rest of the book is a combination of fluff and similarly bad examples. I’m actually increasingly becoming pro blockchain as I see more used cases for the technology, but this book is a terrible advocate and representation for the tech.
chrisyakimov's review against another edition
5.0
So far, this is the most balanced and informed of any "enthusiastic" view about blockchain technology that I have read. Vigna and Casey do a great job of explaining the hard parts in easy to understand ways, making the "ah-ha" accessible without glossing over the challenges and risks, and without degenerating into simplified hype. They do an incredible job of locating blockchain and DLT in prevailing issues of justice and democracy without painting an overly utopian picture. I was burning out on blockchain - this book has me soberly re-inspired.
shawnwhy's review against another edition
4.0
a fun book about the functions and proposed functions of the block chain technology to have all transactions accounted for with out the authrity of a government, who could in theory become currupt.
ksteele18's review against another edition
5.0
Good book to read to learn about Blockchain. Blockchain will definitely be a part of our future in many ways
snowcrash's review
3.0
I have been dipping my toe into the blockchain world, seeing it as a disruption to the financial world. I picked this book off of the library shelf to learn more about where blockchain will take us.
If you are someone who doesn't know much about blockchains, the various players and the history, this is a good overview. If you are someone, like me, who is continually reading about that world, there isn't much here that is new or interesting. Read Crypto Medium articles. As the blockchain world is running faster than dog years, a book published at the beginning of 2018 is already out of date.
I did want to see if there are any new ideas as to the impact this technology will make on the world. The idea of using tokens to pay for car charging at a stranger's house was interesting. I already knew about tokenization of physical assets, tracking their ownership or movement. Think aircraft parts, where the history is of supreme importance. Recently I've learned about a project that is working to tokenize music ownership & payments. Such ideas are like the Internet in the mid-1990's. Lots of things to try & see what sticks. But the iterations are faster and less forgiving.
All in all, this was a good book when it was written. But the realm of blockchain moves too fast for books.
If you are someone who doesn't know much about blockchains, the various players and the history, this is a good overview. If you are someone, like me, who is continually reading about that world, there isn't much here that is new or interesting. Read Crypto Medium articles. As the blockchain world is running faster than dog years, a book published at the beginning of 2018 is already out of date.
I did want to see if there are any new ideas as to the impact this technology will make on the world. The idea of using tokens to pay for car charging at a stranger's house was interesting. I already knew about tokenization of physical assets, tracking their ownership or movement. Think aircraft parts, where the history is of supreme importance. Recently I've learned about a project that is working to tokenize music ownership & payments. Such ideas are like the Internet in the mid-1990's. Lots of things to try & see what sticks. But the iterations are faster and less forgiving.
All in all, this was a good book when it was written. But the realm of blockchain moves too fast for books.
More...