Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Linked  By  cover art

Linked

By: Albert-Laszlo Barabasi
Narrated by: Henry Leyva
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $13.46

Buy for $13.46

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

From a cocktail party to a terrorist cell, from an ancient bacteria to an international conglomerate - all are networks, and all are part of a surprising scientific revolution. A maverick group of scientists is discovering that all networks have a deep underlying order and operate according to simple but powerful rules. This knowledge promises to shed light on the spread of fads and viruses, the robustness of ecosystems, the vulnerability of economies - even the future of democracy.

Now, for the first time, a scientist whose own work has transformed the study of "links and nodes" takes us inside the unfolding network revolution. Albert-Laszlo Barabasi traces the fascinating history of connected systems, beginning with mathematician Leonhard Euler's first forays into graph theory in the late 1700s and culminating in biologists' development of cancer drugs based on a new understanding of cellular networks.

Combining narrative flare with sparkling insights, Barabasi introduces us to the myriad modern-day "cartographers" mapping networks in a range of scientific disciplines. Aided by powerful computers, they are proving that social networks, corporations, and cells are more similar than they are different. Their discoveries provide an important new perspective on the interconnected world around us.

Linked reveals how Google came to be the Internet's most popular search engine, how Vernon Jordan's social network affects the entire American economy, what it would take to bring down a terrorist organization like al Qaeda, and why an obscure finding of Einstein's could change the way we look at the networks in our own lives. Understanding the structure and behavior of networks will forever alter our world, allowing us to design the "perfect" business or stop a disease outbreak before it goes global.

Engaging and authoritative, Linked provides an exciting preview of the next century in science.

Also available in print from Perseus Publishing.

©2002 Albert-Laszlo Barabasi
(P)2002 Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

"A sweeping look at a new and exciting science." (Donald Kennedy, Editor-in-Chief, Science Magazine)

"Captivating.... Linked is a playful, even exuberant romp through an exciting new field." (Time Out New York)

More from the same

What listeners say about Linked

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    412
  • 4 Stars
    338
  • 3 Stars
    217
  • 2 Stars
    67
  • 1 Stars
    32
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    147
  • 4 Stars
    91
  • 3 Stars
    43
  • 2 Stars
    7
  • 1 Stars
    6
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    146
  • 4 Stars
    94
  • 3 Stars
    45
  • 2 Stars
    13
  • 1 Stars
    3

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

The reconstruction of complex systems.

Reductionism is at the heart of the scientific process, but in the end, we must be able to reconstruct a complex system from its basic components in order to understand its emergent behaviors. Such behaviors frequently go unexplained. The realization that complex systems that appear to be chaotic and random actually follow quite simple laws that is mathematically quantifiable cuts across a multitude of disciplines. This book is not just about the internet, although it is certainly discussed. It is more about a possible paradigm for explaining how and why complex systems demonstrate a self-organizing capability. Although it can be quite dry listening, this book presents the listener with an insight into what the next century of science has to offer.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

61 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Network theory for beginners

This was, in retrospect, critical for me to listen to. It provides a framework for understanding complex natural systems.
Network theory has seen a boom recently and this book by one of the founders of modern day 'scale free network topology' theory lays it out in plain english (except for the name, I guess). Beginning with Euler's theorems he follows through his own research and that of others to construct a picture of how network architecture arises, what factors affect it, and it's strengths and vulnerabilities. The theory is supported with examples of real networks (businesses, hollywood stars, the brain, the internet, and the spread on AIDS).
The theories also make sense, there's a real feeling of 'ah-haa' in every chapter as layers of complexity are added on. This seminal work describes the basis of a theroy that will be the starting point for a deeper understanding of the world around us.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

38 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Linked

Fascinating topic! I would like to see the principles of studying the network operating in the Bush family and the Republican Party.

The Democratic Party needs to learn from it.

For his survival, the American citizen needs to understand it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

18 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Slow start, strong finish

This is a thorough discussion of network theory. The first part of the book goes into great, and sometimes tedious, detail. If you have the patience to wait for the cake to bake, however, the frosting is quite tasty. The second half of the book is about applications and real-world examples of every sort of network you might imagine and several you probably won't.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Puffery

I was very disappointed in this lightweight listen. The author is extremely proud of some elementary results that seem obvious to anyone with a serious math or comp. sci. background. He has so little to say that he repeats it many times. Links on the internet are not random! Are you amazed?

To make a book out of what should have been a short article, he then predicts marvellous advances in medicine based on his "discoveries," completely disregarding the problems of production and economic issues. If nanotechnology succeeds, will networkologists take credit?

A final nit: He uses the spread of AIDS as an example of a network, with patients as nodes and sexual contacts as links. However, many of his "facts" are wrong--he propagates myths that support his points but do not stand up under scrutiny. AIDS is not a "pandemic". People aren't virtually certain to die with 10 years of infection with HIV. Heterosexual contact does not spread AIDS. Kaposi's sarcoma is not caused by HIV and is not contagious.

This book did not teach me anything. Just a glimpse into how self-important academics can become.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Dissenting Voice -

I found this this book disappointing and repetitive.

It seemed a classic example of three interesting points spun out into a book-length treatment. The authors seemed unsure whether they were writing an instructional book for business networking, an academic treatise on networking theory, or their own curricula vitae. The result is maddeningly dry and circular.

The exhaustive explanation, discussion and criticism of obviously flawed and outdated networking theories is nothing but filler and occupies the bulk of book. Their unsupported extrapolations to politics and society are spurious and frequently laughable. Anyone interested in the subject should buy the paper version instead and skim aggressively.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

The best overview of networks that I have found.

I listened to Linked and then went on to read the Tipping Point and Smart Mobs -- two other books on networks / social networks. They often used the same examples, but with less detail. Linked gives a historical perspective that is useful and interesting. I was familiar with the notions of 6-Degrees and 80-20 beforehand, but now understand much better how they relate to one another and when it's appropriate to use them.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Useful read

Linked is a good review of network theory at just more than an introductory level. I particularly enjoyed the historical review of the developments in the body of knowledge for network theory. The last section, where networks in all aspects of life were examined, was a little long -- where I would have "fast read" or skipped ahead if I had been reading instead of listening, but other than that it was well-narrated and worthwhile.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

From a LAN...

I'm a Network Admin by day, astronomer by night... this book will touch on every aspect of your scientific mind whether you have one or not. I'm always amazed by our modeling of nature; Networks are no exception.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Not a Mathematician

I'm not a scientist or a mathematician, and this book reminded me why. It was a bit dry in places, and the math often seemed to prove the obvious - that networks are not always random, but rather some nodes are more connected than others. Could have been said in a much shorter format. Also, it seemed to confuse some issues, like web pages vs. Internet infrastructure. Still, this book gave some interesting things to think about.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful