The Making of Second Life: Notes from the New World

A very comfortably understandable read, even for the non-technarati. As a very involved resident of Second Life I very much enjoyed this insider look at the beginnings and build up of what has become Second Life. It goes over the people involved, the expectations of the software platform and it's users, and obstacles, and the often unexpected outcomes that overturned a lot of preconceived notions of what people thought was going to happen. Because Second Life is always changing, there is some dated information, but a nice added chapter to bring people up to date on the most recent events and changes. I enjoyed the read, and would recommend this to anyone really interested in Second Life. I've already loaned it to friends who use Second Life and have gotten favorable responses. As a hard back book it's a bit pricey. So a note to the author/publisher: Hey! Fancy putting a digital publication for sale inside of SL? For a less weighty fee? Right now I'm sending my hardback copy to a few SL active friends who might not otherwise get a look at it.

The Making of Second Life is THE book you want to read before any other book about Second Life. Whether you are a 'Second Lifer' or just a curious review reader without any Second Life experience- this book is a must read for anyone even remotely interested in simulated 3d experiences of any kind or even ways of transcending the human embodiment into flesh. It will give you a great insight into what Second Life is (do NOT assume upon the name!), and how Second Life became what it is today. From the conception of the idea, formation of Linden Lab, first residents experiences, romance, protests, war...a fantastic and upbeat read that doesn't ever stray away into 'too much geek talk' or leave you with questions unanswered. Wagner James Au (virtually responsive to the name Hamlet Au) has made a great contribution to the history of human virtuality by writing this book. Thank you.

The virtual world known as Second Life has attracted over a million active users, and offers users an opportunity to 'build' new personal worlds. THE MAKING OF SECOND LIFE is not another programming book about how it was made - it's a behind-the-scenes story of why and covers the story of its evolution. From how it developed from a simple user-controlled philosophy unusually versatile in activities to its economic and social success, THE MAKING OF SECOND LIFE is an eye-opening view of the program's ongoing evolutionary process, and will appeal to both computer-specific libraries and general-interest collections.

Even as a passive SL'er, this was a very enjoyable read!!! One great difference from the million other SL books/articles/blogs out there is the great insight Au provides in to the origin's and evolution of the SL universe as we now know it. A fun and fascinating look back at the BIG BANG if you will. I too will be taking a deeper look at SL!!!(Sorry Honey,kids)

I have been a resident of Second Life for over a year and a half now, and it is interesting to see what went on before I came in-world, but the best part of this book is the description of how other residents view SL, how and why they react as they do in SL, and where we are going in SL. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested not just in SL, but in any virtual world.