摘要：Not being bound by traditional page-length restrictions is an advantage to writing for an online
journal, particularly when the contributor is tasked with reviewing one of the most comprehensive books
in his field of study. ¡°Mobile Communication and Society¡± (2007) by Manuel Castells, Mireia Fernandez-
Ardevol, Jack Linchuan Qiu, and Araba Sey provides an up-to-date account of key developments in
wireless communication research, theory, and practice, with an emphasis on mobile telephony. The
authors set out to answer a number of important questions about the rise of wireless communication
technologies and social transformations associated with their diffusion and use. These questions explore
uses and ramifications for the private sphere of everyday life as well as the public sphere of political
change. The authors are careful to contextualize their accounts with an analytic approach that examines
how culture and other socio-demographic variables intersect with the adoption, use, and social
consequences of these new media. In doing so, Castells et al. manage to expand the developing field of
mobile communication studies by offering new levels of breadth in their global analysis. At the same time,
they provide the reader with in-depth images of the technology¡¯s implications within certain societies and
sub-sets of those societies. In part, this cross-cultural approach is possible because the book is authored
by a multinational team of researchers with expertise in mobile communication as well as their respective
cultural environments. In addition, the authors draw from an impressive collection of academic research,
government reports, and industry data to provide what is arguably the most comprehensive look at mobile
communication and society from a cross-cultural perspective. While this summary and evaluation may
exceed customary standards for book review lengths, it far from covers everything in the text. Rather, the
intent here is to capture highlights from select chapters of Castells¡¯ et al.¡¯s ¡°Mobile Communication and
Society,¡± while reflecting on some of the assets, limitations, and opportunities the text has to offer for
researchers and instructors of communication in a time when wireless and mobile communication have
come of age.
