This book discusses how computers are shaping contemporary society, with a tight focus on the role of corporations and governments. It is aimed at government policymakers interested in economic development and at private-sector managers who routinely make decisions to acquire and use information technology, now a worldwide expenditure of over $2 trillion annually. The book will also interest a wide range of academics concerned with the sociology, history, economics, and the effects of IT on contemporary society, ands to the general trade market.

"The book also presents ideas for educators. For instance, to encourage IT people to be naturally proactive, courses should leverage the creation and production of IT projects with solving society's problems. With some effort, this can be done in computers and society courses, at both the general and professional education level. At the professional level, IT workers with such experience and training will more likely choose to work on problem areas. At the general level, people with such experience will act politically, to vocalize the expectation that the IT industry will create products that help society." (Computing Reviews, September 2010)

James W. Cortada has thirty-five years of experience with IBM in various sales, consulting, and managerial positions related to information technology and its use. In particular, he helped design and deploy processes related to employee skills development, including IBM's worldwide consultant skills certification process, sales processes, and specialized training seminars. An author of more than fifty books on the management and history of information technology, Cortada's work has been translated into Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, and Korean.