Description: Chorost chronicles his journey from deafness to hearing, from human to cyborg, and how it transformed him. Written with self-deprecating, dry wit this volume explores hearing, sound, and software that can now mend the senses.
Brief description:
Michael Chorost has a B.A. from Brown University and a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin. He lives in San Francisco, where he writes, teaches, and consults.
Review Quotes:
"Deeply enjoyable...Chorost is at the vanguard of where most baby-boomers will end up--part human and part machine." --Rodney Brooks, director of the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab and author of Flesh and Machines
"Chorost takes us on an amazing intellectual journey...[and he] has a fine ear for language...A lovely book." --Robin Marantz Henig, author of Pandora's Baby and The Monk in the Garden
"Chorost is a quite amazing new writer whose prose spirits the reader across the sound barrier..." --Sol Stein, author of Stein on Writing and (with James Baldwin) Native Sons
"Chorost has written a wonderfully fascinating account of banishing total deafness...Beethoven would be encouraged." --Manfred Clynes, coiner of the term "cyborg" and Professor of Biophysics at Georgetown University
"This is a terrific book--an eyewitness bulletin from the borderlands where technology and bodies clash and meld. I read it through in one huge chomp, shouting and chortling at this adventure or that. Chorost pulls off the high-wire stunt of conveying scientific accuracy about a complex biomedical topic while writing with the cliffhanger excitement of an action adventure videogame." --Allucquére Rosanne Stone, author of The War of Desire and Technology at the Close of the Mechanical Age
"An exemplary first-person account of becoming a cyborg. Rebuilt combines technical and philosophical erudition with fine writing." --Chris Hables Gray, author of Cyborg Citizen: Politics in the Posthuman Age and editor of The Cyborg Handbook
"Rebuilt is a heartfelt exploration of technologically mediated perception...Chorost's journey is that of humanity itself." -- Andy Clark, author of Natural-Born Cyborgs
"Readers will find much food for thought . . . in this beautifully written debut." Publishers Weekly
"A real marvel is Michael Chorost...he brings to his fascinating subject great intellectual clarity...compelling." --Jenny Davidson The Village Voice
"By far the most original, honest, and authoritative book I've read on human-machine interfaces." --John Horgan, The Chronicle of Higher Education
"An artfully frank account, Chorost's story will vitally engage people interested in the increasingly prevalent surgical procedure." --Gilbert Taylor Booklist, ALA
"Moving...The most hopeful thing I've read in quite a while." --Annalee Newitz, San Francisco Bay Guardian
"Graceful, poetic . . . this is a book that will make you think and, ultimately, make you smile." Library Journal Starred
"Funny and thoughtful...[Chorost's] awareness of life's fragility...strikes me as the perfect answer to opponents of implants...invaluable." --Alex Soojung-Kim Pang The Los Angeles Times