Linked: How Everything Is Connected to Everything Else and What It Means author: Albert-Laszlo Barabasi rating: asin: 0452284392 binding: Paperback list price: $16.00 USD amazon price: $17.79 USD

Networks are everywhere. The Internet is one; so is your circle of friends. The power grid is another network and so are the various systems of your body. Understanding the fundamental properties of networks may well be key to our survival in the future.

Albert-Laszlo Barabasi, one of the top researchers in the field of network theory, lays out the state of the art in this book. Barbasi's research has yielded some surprising insights into the way networks function. An attack on random 'nodes' on a network can be surprisingly ineffective at shutting it down - up to 80% of the nodes can be eliminated or disabled before the system itself starts to break down. On the other hand, a focused attack on a few of the major hubs in a network can cause the whole thing to collapse quickly.

This research is important in a number of areas. For example, how do military organizations create highly fault tolerant networks for intelligence gathering? What are the key species in an ecosystem, the disappearance of which would cause the whole thing to fall to pieces? Further, an understanding of what changes a random node into major hubs has implications for the mudande (what makes a web site a success?) to the serious (how to find and isolate major 'distribution points' of disease).

His style is easy going and this makes the book very readable; at the same time he does not dumb down the material or insult the reader's intelligence. In effect, he treats the reader as being smart enough to understand the concepts, but not necessarily expert in the field, which is what you want in this kind of book. It might have been nice to see some of the mathematics involved, even in an appendix, however anyone looking for more meat can always access his website here.

In short, a good read, well worth the price.