The Age of Extraction

The paradox of the platform: without middlemen, we’d all be stuck, but those same middlemen are forever working to declare themselves to be our bosses. Wu’s characteristically insightful book cuts to the core of these world-consuming, usurping enshittifiers, and tells us how to stop them -- Cory Doctorow, author of Enshittification
The magic of Tim Wu’s The Age of Extraction is its simplicity. Wu deftly breaks down one of the greatest challenges of our age - the unaccountable power of tech platforms - into such digestible pieces that the solutions for what to do become dead obvious. Essential reading for anyone looking for the recipe to rebalance the vast inequality in our society and to create a thriving economy that works for everyone -- Karen Hao, author of Empire of AI
Large tech companies are set to be the main beneficiaries of a new economy based on data and artificial intelligence. But neither the lopsided present of tech nor the future direction of technology is our destiny. Tim Wu's readable, passionate call is for a fairer economy where the benefits of AI can be for all of us, and he proposes principles, laws, and regulations about how to achieve this -- Daron Acemoglu, co-author of Why Nations Fail
Tim Wu’s The Age of Extraction is a how-to book on how we can achieve liberty once again. Wu describes why so much in our society feels unbalanced, that the convenience and scale of platforms masks a hidden creeping power over our lives and communities. But he also shows how platforms in one form or another have always been part of human society, and the key is to govern them properly -- Matt Stoller, author of Goliath
Tim Wu’s The Age of Extraction is a must-read. This is a book for anyone—from senator to student—who seeks to understand our digital economy and why we need common sense rules of the road. Wu shows us how to protect consumers, workers, small businesses, and even our democracy from dominant platforms that have inserted themselves into nearly every aspect of our lives -- Senator Amy Klobuchar
The Age of Extraction is remarkably astute and timely. Wu brilliantly analyzes platform power with great clarity, insight, and moral force, laying out the material stakes for people's lives as well as a roadmap for achieving broad prosperity and economic fairness. A vital book for these troubled times -- Lina Khan, Former Chair, U.S. Federal Trade Commission

PRAISE FOR TIM WU'S PREVIOUS BOOKS

[Wu] writes books that make a big impact

-- John Naughton * Guardian *
Wu is much better than most . . . mainly because he has narrative flair and an eye for the most telling examples * Sunday Times *
An excellent primer for anyone who wants to understand why corporate wealth and power have grown so concentrated . . . and why that might be a problem for democracy * Financial Times on The Curse of Bigness *
Timely and important . . . Wu makes an urgent and persuasive case -- Joseph E. Stiglitz on The Curse of Bigness
With The Curse of Bigness Tim Wu helps shape an urgent new global conversation on market democracy, reviving the critical role of governments in curbing corporate power -- Shoshana Zuboff, author of The Age of Surveillance Capitalism
Original, provocative and stimulating -- Timothy Garton Ash on The Curse of Bigness
I couldn't put this fascinating book down. Gripping from page one with its insight, vivid writing, and panoramic sweep, [it] is also a book of urgent importance -- Amy Chua on The Attention Merchants
A profoundly important book -- James Gleick on The Attention Merchants
Magisterial . . . Wu’s sharp analysis and eye for a good story will impress * Sunday Times on The Master Switch *
Wu is the rare writer capable of exhuming history and also interpreting current affairs. In this profound and important book, he excels at both * New Scientist on The Master Switch *
Great stories, and Wu tells them expertly * Guardian on The Master Switch *