Rating: 
Summary: FSTR BRNG
Review: I read this book partially because I had to for a class, partially a suggestion from my dad because he'd read Gleick's other books. I read about halfway through it and, I must say, for a book about how the world is getting too fast, this book jumped around pretty quickly. It'd be talking about watches for about 6 pages (which was the longest chapter I got to), then the next chapter would come, it'd be less than half that length and about TV and newscasters. Seriously, it seemed like it had ADD! I grew up in this faster-paced world and I know that it's faster than what used to be. I hear stories, I know that television didn't exist a hundred years ago, and I certainly don't need 281 telling me that my generation has it bad because everything's sped up, especially when the chapters could most definately be cut in half because all you need to read is about the first half of any chapter to get what you'd like out of it. Not to keep rambling, but we all know the world's faster, so why don't we just slow down what we can and don't waste our time reading this book?
Rating: 
Summary: Matter Moves Faster Inward
Review: I've read this book several times over the last year or two. I enjoy it every time. There are many interesting anecdotes about how life has accelerated almost beyond control. Curiously enough, the book itself goes at a slow pace. There is a refreshing difference between the relaxed pace of the book and the frantic pace of the subject matter. Reading it straight through might not be the best way to approach this book. I enjoy reading one chapter at a time at night as a way to relax from my own fast-paced life.
Rating: 
Summary: Got a Short Attention Span?
Review: If so, don't read this book. No wait, on second thought you probably should *force* yourself to read this book. It would likely do you some good. While definitely dry in spots, Faster makes several important assertions about life in the modern age and the effects it can have on us.Looking for reasons why the people around you seem so spacey and disconnected at times? Read this book... Seeking an answer to the question "Why do I have less and less time every year, despite a proliferation of "time-saving" devices in my life?" Read this book.... Want to understand why there is so much angst and aggression on the highways, city sidewalks and aircraft cabins of the world? Read this book.... I'm not telling you Gleick is a master pyschologist, but I am telling you he has some very interesting observations to make - observations that should be summarized on the editorial page of every newspaper in America so they can be discussed at large. Some of the insights made may not be very popular with the jet-set, but the truth hurts sometimes. This a good book when all is said and done. If you have the attention span of a chipmunk on No-Doze, you won't like it. Otherwise give it a shot....
Rating:
Summary: whoosh
Review: If you can carve out a few hours from your busy schedule and read this book, you'll find it time well spent. And you'll also find yourself thinking much more pointedly about your time. "Faster" is really about time, about its importance and the pressures modern society places on our time. We live in what's called the Information Age where everything moves at the speed of light, and Gleick does an outstanding job of showing how the sheer speed of activity in our lives has changed us. It's not a pretty picture. Think about all the time-saving devices that have come about in the last 25 years-- microwave, fax machine, copier, e-mail-- and then think about how much extra time these wonders have created. They haven't freed up time-- they've made it possible to fill time with more activity. Gleick's observations about how technology has accelerated the pace of life are spot-on and more than a little frightening. Everyone talks about shortening attention spans, yet today there is so much to attract our attention that it's hard to choose what to focus on. Too many books to read, too many shows to see, too many ways to spend our leisure time, which has not increased fast enough to match the demands on it. "Faster" does an excellent job of illustrating what a serious problem this is, a problem that doubtless will get worse before it gets better.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting book and brings things into focus
Review: James Gleick covers a wide area of our daily lives, and how things have changed regarding the value of time. Apparently time has never been so short than in our days. Interesting perspective, and a book that brings things into focus with subjects discussed from marriage to work and everything in between, as we continue to waste time. Great and wonderful writing make it an enjoyable read. Another book that has helped me to manage my time, especially on the chapters of Making Time for Yourself, and the Marriage & Sex chapter, as well the topic of a Perfect Life discussed, and a book that I highly recommend is Dietmar Scherf's "I Love Me: Avoiding & Overcoming Depression"--also sold at Amazon.
Rating:
Summary: gleick has learned to write
Review: lucid prose. fascinating ideas. My favorite anecdote from the book -- in Japan, the paint on the close door button in elevators is often worn off. Elevators themselves make one of the more interesting sections of the book. The problem with faster elevators is not so much being able to move the elevator that fast, but other things -- making sure that the slight vibrations don't cause it to hit the side of the shaft, figuring out some way to stop people's ears from popping. Each chapter offers a new insight or set of insights. I think it is near impossible to be bored reading this book
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