{"product_id":"the-stack-benjamin-h-bratton-9780262029575","title":"The Stack: On Software and Sovereignty","description":"\u003cb\u003eA comprehensive political and design theory of planetary-scale computation proposing that The Stack--an accidental megastructure--is both a technological apparatus and a model for a new geopolitical architecture.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhat has planetary-scale computation done to our geopolitical realities? It takes different forms at different scales--from energy and mineral sourcing and subterranean cloud infrastructure to urban software and massive universal addressing systems; from interfaces drawn by the augmentation of the hand and eye to users identified by self--quantification and the arrival of legions of sensors, algorithms, and robots. Together, how do these distort and deform modern political geographies and produce new territories in their own image?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eThe Stack\u003c\/i\u003e, Benjamin Bratton proposes that these different genres of computation--smart grids, cloud platforms, mobile apps, smart cities, the Internet of Things, automation--can be seen not as so many species evolving on their own, but as forming a coherent whole: an accidental megastructure called The Stack that is both a computational apparatus and a new governing architecture. We are inside The Stack and it is inside of us. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn an account that is both theoretical and technical, drawing on political philosophy, architectural theory, and software studies, Bratton explores six layers of The Stack: \u003ci\u003eEarth\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003e Cloud\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003e City\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003e Address\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003e Interface\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003e User\u003c\/i\u003e. Each is mapped on its own terms and understood as a component within the larger whole built from hard and soft systems intermingling--not only computational forms but also social, human, and physical forces. This model, informed by the logic of the multilayered structure of protocol \"stacks,\" in which network technologies operate within a modular and vertical order, offers a comprehensive image of our emerging infrastructure and a platform for its ongoing reinvention. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Stack\u003c\/i\u003e is an interdisciplinary design brief for a new geopolitics that works with and for planetary-scale computation. Interweaving the continental, urban, and perceptual scales, it shows how we can better build, dwell within, communicate with, and govern our worlds.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ethestack.org\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Benjamin H. Bratton\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 026202957X\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780262029575\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e MIT Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 02\/19\/2016\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 528\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 2.30lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.20h x 7.30w x 1.70d","brand":"Benjamin H. Bratton","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":48216456954111,"sku":"9780262029575","price":55.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_98c38aa9-247e-443d-922d-7a498db5a102.jpg?v=1771991122","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-stack-benjamin-h-bratton-9780262029575","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}