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Rating: 
Summary: Not worth the time
Review: I cannot say that I learned much about the Internet through this book. The book was too simplistic for a regular Internet user. The generalizations were repeated over and over throughout the chapters, which made the book fairly boring. Also, the information in the chapters was commonsense based information. If anyone has any knowledge about the Internet, this book is not for you. Most high schoolers could probably give you the answers to the questions approached by Castells. This book is not worth the price paid, I am sorry I ever bought it.
Rating: 
Summary: The Internet is here to stay so you may as well use it
Review: I found Internet Galaxy (IG) to be very interesting. Castells was able to describe the Internet in such a manner that it took on bigger than life characteristics. In some cases, it even became human-like. There were times when I wondered if humans are controlling the Internet or is it controlling us? As he says, "the Internet is the fabric of our lives." We can/will never be the same again since the introduction of the Internet. Unfortunately, I believe the bad uses of the Internet are starting to catch up with the good uses of the Internet. Yes, while there are still many unknown uses of the Internet, I do not agree with Castells' prediction that the Internet will take over and replace face-to-face interaction as society evolves into a global virtual community. IG is an excellent resource for a comprehensive historical perspective about the Internet. The book is thought provoking. Often, while reading it, I found myself quite intrigued throughout by his observations and conclusions. In many instances, Castells offers the information but leaves it open for the reader to draw her/his own conclusions on certain topics.
Rating: 
Summary: A bunch of common sense
Review: I found this book to be very informative for those that don't know much about the internet, but for those with knowledge about the internet i would not suggest this books. Castell makes some very good points, but they are over shadowed by how repetitive his writing style is. The best chapter in this book is on e-business, he very hit a homerun with this chapter. Although for the most part this book didn't teach me much that i did not already know about the internet. The last three chapter of this book could have easily been left out to save readers for repetitive writing. Overall, I feel this book is appropriate for new users of the internet, but for those that have a working knowledge of the internet I would not suggest this book.
Rating:
Summary: Average
Review: I would recommend the Internet Galaxy to a person who is conducting or going to conduct a research about the Internet because the author provides tons of information in depth which could be a good background for that person. This could be a huge source of reference as well. Some chapter is interesting such as the Culture of the Internet that let us know more about the characteristic of network society (some context you can just skip it). Some chapter is up to date and it may refer to the current issue such as Digital Divide or is the Internet the end of privacy? You may find an answer here. Some chapter is too redundant and not necessary to know for some students. For someone who is really interested in what the Internet impacts us, this book could raise some points for you to further think or question about. However, if you just want to know superficially what the Internet is or what it is used nowadays I suggest to find another easy-reading Internet dummy book.
Rating: 
Summary: Internet Galaxy
Review: Much of what Manuel Castells addressed in his book, The Internet Galaxy, represents a new breakthrough idea that the Internet plays an important role in our society. Basically, this should be a technology issue that most readers are familiar with, but he can use his knowledge including with his incredible talent to generate the linkage between the technological basis and social, philosophical perspective. There is a lot of useful information combined together in each chapter through this book. If any interested readers are ready to develop their views and mindsets with the analyzed understandings of the influence of the Internet, I believe that this book should be considered to be another valuable asset for them to keep.
Rating:
Summary: really bad sociology
Review: My understanding is that this book is an accessible summary of the ideas Catsells presents in his three volume magnum opus, the Information Age (which starts with the Network Society). If this is so, I am definitely not missing much by not having read the trilogy. This is a really bad piece of sociology, characterized by a technologically deterministic analysis. Why did I give it two stars instead of one then? Well, it does have some OK parts. Catsell's analysis of the origins of the internet is an interesting bit of the sociology of technology and what saves the book from pure technological determinism. He also presents some convincing data (gathered by other people) that use of the internet for socializing does not suck people into an on-line world, alienating them from the world of face-to-face interaction; this happens in the case of a few troubled people, but most people use the internet to enhance their already existing off-line relationships. The rest of the book basically argues that the network format of the internet is reshaping the rest of society in its image, with everything from big business to governments to social movements adopting a network form in response to the rise of this new technology. This is, frankly, ludicrous reductionism. It doesn't even stand up to a simple test of chronology--a lot of the developments that Castells argues are driven by the internet predate the explosion of ist usage in the mid-1990s. As Castells himself admits, businesses were already taking on more of a network form before the internet appeared big time on the scene, and social movement scholars have shown the same is true of transnational social movements. On top of this, Castells shows an effusive enthusiasm for all things networked, whether they be transnational corporations or the transnational social movements that oppose these same corporations. I'm really at a loss to understand how one can enthuse about both of these opposed phenomena. Castells does see some of the problems with the new network society--loss of job security and the digital divide, for instance--but he tends to downplay these. And his solution to these problems tends to come down to more of the same--more internet access, more network social organization. Talk about a narrow vision.
Rating:
Summary: Feable for the Internet Educated
Review: The Internet Galaxy mainly talks about the interaction between the Internet, the economy and the society. Each idea in the book is supported by research and observations that sometimes are unnecessary or obvious. For example, in Chapter 9 (The digital divide in a global perspective) Castells spends 30 pages proving points that are evident such as the fact that that Internet use is higher in the U.S. that in other country in the world or that the biggest cities have the most internet users. This kind of redundancy can provoke the reader to loose interest in the book. However, there are some chapters and ideas that are interesting and informative. For instance, I found Chapters 1 (Lessons from the history of the Internet) and 2 (The culture of the Internet) personally very informative. Due to my basic Internet knowledge, it was appealing for me to know the history of the Internet and how/why it was first created for. Also, thanks to Chapter 2, I clarify the meaning of the hacker culture.
In general, I could say that the book is interesting for people who have basic Internet knowledge. However, I would suggest the reader to skip some chapters if he/she wants to read the completed book and get a general sense of the book.
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