Geek Chic

Book excerpt: There's never been a better time to be a geek. After decades, if not centuries, of persecution, ridicule and never, ever getting the girl, geeks are on the ascendant. They are scientists, programmers, artists, musicians, actors, skateboarders and architects. They have risen above unimaginative educational systems, hostile social environments and employers to develop the most liberating, most global, most inventive and most democratic culture on the planet. They are the geeks, and their time has come. Geek Chic is the story of their lengthy rise to power, told in language and a method that they have helped to pioneer. The book is a lively combination of text, design and images, and takes us all the way from Zeus to Dr Seuss, from Copernicus to Einstein, from Tesla to Tarantino, from computers to duct tape and from Space Invaders to Star Wars. Divided into three distinct parts, it can be read from start to finish or just as easily dipped into and surfed at leisure. The first section is an introductory essay tracing the rise of geek culture, particularly in film, television, music and media. Zeus and takes us right up to the present. Included in this timeline is a series of sidebars spotlighting the best geek films, TV programmes, books, robots, computer games and fashion. The third part of the book comprises short biographical sketches of 'O.Gs' (original geeks), such as Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Spike Jonze and Tony Hawk. Irrevererent, light but substantive, Geek Chic is a manifesto for the generation that has already changed the world. It will have a natural appeal to geeks and to the people who know, live with, love or are just confused by them.