The Rust Age: A Four-Volume Collection

August 31, 2017 · Venkat
Back in 2012, I selected, clustered, and sequenced the best posts from the first five years of ribbonfarm (2007-12) into 4 collections, which I collectively dubbed the Rust Age. New readers frequently land on the Rust Age page, get lost and annoyed in the link jungle, and email me asking for this early content in ebook format. Thanks to some stellar production and editing work by Jordan Peacock, and cover art by Josiah Norton, the 4 collections have now been turned into 4 Rust Age volumes, available as Kindle ebooks. The books include a glossary and a map to help you navigate. The revamped Rust Age series page, with short blurbs for each volume, can be found here. Each individual volume also has its own page with links to the included posts (I've just updated the 2012 collection posts to include the respective ebook links). Note: these collections do not include The Gervais Principle, which is also part of the Rust Age and is its own ebook. The Rust Age also includes two books of non-ribbonfarm content: Be Slightly Evil and Tempo. Damn, that's SEVEN books out of 2007-2012. And I was holding down a full-time job too then (and wasn't slacking off at it). I don't know where I got the energy. When I write my memoirs, I'll call that period my roaring mid-thirties. With this beautifully e-boxed four-volume set done, Jordan and I are now turning our attention to the Snowflake Age (2013-17). As you know, we've already put out the first of the Snowflake Age volumes: Crash Early, Crash Often. We are currently working on a second volume, which will be a compilation of Sarah Perry posts, and trawling through the archives looking for more good compilations we can pull together. Compilation suggestions from long-time readers welcome. We've probably missed some patterns backstage here.

9 Comments

Aptenodytes2017-08-31

I appreciate your work, especially on the unintended effects of tech and would love to see it in Kindle/print form. Thanks!

Aptenodytes2017-08-31

Specifically speaking, how technology can greypill people is a theme in your work e.g (On the Design of Escaped Realities) which fascinates me. I would go so far to say "On the Design" is your best essay because it addresses this theme in depth, pointing out the unnamed but ubiquitous fallacies people have about tech and how it can create more diversity.

Venkatesh Rao2017-09-06

Thanks, interesting you spotted that. It's the non-obvious root of a lot of my current explorations and possible starting point for a book.

Aptenodytes2017-09-06

If you were to actually write a book on tech, would you reuse ribbonfarm and/or Breaking Smart posts?

Joseph Ratliff2017-08-31

Paperback versions of all, if possible, please.
I would love to stick all of these up on the shelf (including Sarah's upcoming volume).

Luc2017-08-31

Any chance of getting a non Kindle ebook version?

Sarah2017-08-31

This is amazing. Please keep going with your analysis of The Office characters! Brilliant.

Aptenodytes2017-09-12

What would the evil twin of Ribbonfarm by any chance?

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