Rating: 
Summary: A rather glib Masters thesis
Review: An entertaining read, full of "yep" moments much just like those soc and psych textbooks of yore. Suitably apt to the book's core thesis is the fact that some of its anecdotes have become "quaint" so soon. Pick it up for a good afternoon's read, and not for the sort of stimulating newness so apparent in Gleick's title character of "Genius" or the pervasive philosophic depth he plumbs in "Chaos."
Rating:
Summary: A fun read but ultimately a disappointment.
Review: Unfortunately my first introduction to James Gleick was through Faster, a book which ultimately left me questioning why he is considered to be such a smart writer. The topic of this book is fascinating - something that affects all our lives daily and it is filled with fascinating and entertaining examples which make for a great read. But three quarters of the way through I was still waiting for the meaty stuff, a little less of the stories and a little more of the science. By the end I was disappointed that it never arrived. An easily forgettable book.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating, but missing a conclusion
Review: I really wanted to enjoy this book, particularly because Chaos has been so well received, and at the beginning of Faster my expectations were met. Gleick does an excellent job of describing how time, and perhaps the lack of it, has become the universal feature of modern society. Moreover, I believe his premise that technology has created more pressure upon its users, rather than alleviating already existing stresses. Unfortunately, Faster provides only a description of the problem, rather than offer an explanation of why it occurs or how we can shift our collective focus from the clock to something more rewarding.
Rating: 
Summary: Worth reading when you're stressed
Review: I read this book and loved it. I read it at a time in my life when I seemed to be always unable to keep up with all of the demands on my time and still take time to have a life. It is true that this book devolves by the end to a collection of stand-alone chapters that each explore a slightly different facet of the apparent quickening of pace in today's world. And there's a fair number of statistics and factoids, some of which you probably could have guessed by looking at the world around you. And it doesn't wrap up with a tidy conclusion that ties it all together. But it does explore the problem fairly thoroughly and I found that to be extremely worthwhile. It gave me a perspective on why I seemed always to be in a hurry and always late that I found very helpful and I think I have been better able to see and avoid the hidden things that eat all of my time. If you're always in a hurry and always late and don't know why, I highly recommend this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Although there are interesting little tidbits, it seems like the book doesn't have much of an argument nor does it tell us anything new apart from the usual "people get too caught up in the speed of the information age"-type thing. A lot of the things he mentions are almost too obvious. The book's message seems to be simply "Maybe you should slow down". But there are no solutions offered, nor did I need to read an entire book to get this message. Buy Chaos instead if you haven't already.
Rating: 
Summary: Tells something we don't allready know...
Review: Very disappointing read. Points out ideas/issues that are obvious to anyone who has been alive over the last 10 years. Some interesting statistics, but otherwise a pretty boring read.
Rating: 
Summary: Book of the Year
Review: FASTER was chosen as TIME MAGAZINE and ESQUIRE Book of the Year
Rating: 
Summary: Faster in Time
Review: James Gleick's, Faster: The Acceleration of Just About Everything, reminds us how the human condition is moving at a pace that sometimes makes us feel like we are living a blur. Not only do we feel that we are moving at a fast-forward pace, due to our ability to multi-task, but we do not fully understand how we could live in a modern world with conveniences that should fill our lives with leisure time. That is the real point for Gleick - the pace of time has not changed. "Time is defined, analyzed, measured, and even constructed by humans...time is not a thing you have lost. It is not a thing you have ever had. It is what you live in. You can drift in its currents, or you can swim." For Gleick time needs to be managed to reflect the kind of life we want to live. It is a framework that helps us manage our state of being. But he falls short of telling us how to manage our time. How do we find equilibrium with our personal lifetime goals and the uncertain time provided to us?
Rating:
Summary: Maybe we all "know it" but will we change anything?
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book.Gleick takes us back before time was measured, discusses a reaction or two to the invention of the sundial, and then brings us to the hurried pace of our era. With all the talk about efficiency, needing to be on-time and up-to-the-minute with everything, stress, Prozac, antacids, wanting it all overnight, we've needed someone to take a step back and present us with the "big picture." Yes, things are moving faster and will continue to do so. But as the blur of the world passing by our window moves closer and closer to a burlap, will we forget what it means to stand still. Will we remember, before it is too late, the calculus of exponentials? I just hope that we come to realize there are limits to things, and that at the end of the next century, Gleick's descendant in spirit isn't prompted to write a book entitled "He told you so."
Rating:
Summary: A good intro into a largely unstudied area.
Review: I liked the book, but ironically enough I found it a little slow. One of the problems was that Gleick seemed to have a particular bend, but struggled not to show it. Use of terms like "hurry sickness" belie the centrist view carried through the book. Many of the issues being covered are not historical, the ideas about cyberspace and the effect it will have on our society are largely speculative. With the important ramifications for society it would seem only natural to pick a solid stance but the author retains a dispassionate tone. The book was informative and a good introduction to a largely unstudied area: time "saving" devices and the changes that they make on our culture. The many interesting tidbits, insights, and humorous asides garnered a 4 star rating.
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