Andrew Lih

The Wikipedia Revolution

How a Bunch of Nobodies Created the World's Greatest Encyclopedia

Published March 17, 2009 by Hyperion (US) and Aurum Press (UK). Launched at SXSW 2009.

ISBN: 978-1-4013-0371-6

What's Inside

The book traces Wikipedia's story from its founding in 2001 through early 2008 — a comprehensive popular history of the project that became the world's largest reference work. It explores:

• The early influences: Usenet, HyperCard, Slashdot, and MeatballWiki
• Portraits of founders Jimmy Wales, Larry Sanger, and Ward Cunningham
• Infamous events: the Essjay controversy and the Seigenthaler incident
• Cultural differences across German, Chinese, and Japanese Wikipedias
• The Citizendium fork by co-founder Larry Sanger

Critical Reception

"Until just a couple of years ago, the largest reference work ever published was the Yongle Encyclopedia... Roughly 600 years later, Wikipedia surpassed its size and scope with fewer than 25 employees and no official editor."

"The author conveys a vivid sense of Wikipedian talent and provides a useful primer on the computing culture that gave it birth."

Editions