Katie Hafner

"It was the Orwellian year of 1984, when Stewart Brand, originator of the Whole Earth Catalog, and Larry Brilliant, a philanthropic doctor, created The Whole Earth 'Lectric Link, or The Well. Yet, rather than heralding Big Brother, it soon became a liberating cultural innovation that has helped change our world. A balky VAX computer and a rack of modems in ramshackle offices in Sausalito, California, The Well provided a place in the virtual world for people to discuss myriad topics online. It also had a dual existence as members organized parties and rallied to give emotional and financial support to fellow members in crisis. The Well quickly became a community as cherished by its denizens as any small town in America." "This fascinating chronicle of an innovative business venture is also a moving story of interconnected lives. Well Beings ranged from commune-dwellers to technologists to business people to Deadheads. But all members adhered to founder Brand's original credo of personal responsibility, "You own your own words." As revealing as diary entries, dozens of verbatim electronic postings provide unique windows into such events as: Maurice Weitman's reunion with his biological mother: "After over twelve years of searching, and almost forty years of wondering, I've located the woman who gave birth to me and then relinquished me for adoption"; a brutal lovers' quarrel between Tom Mandel and Maria Syndicus that dominated conversation on The Well for weeks, followed months later by his farewell, amid a tragic bout with cancer: "So, thank you all, my best wishes and prayers to each and everyone of you. It's been a fabulous life and it wouldn't have been the same without you.""--BOOK JACKET.

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