Coming of Age in Second Life

The gap between the virtual and the physical, and its effect on the ideas of personhood and relationships, is the most interesting aspect of Boellstorff's analysis... Boellstorff's portrayal of a virtual culture at the advent of its acceptance into mainstream life gives it lasting importance, and his methods will be a touchstone for research in the emerging field of virtual anthropology. -- David Robson Nature Boellstorff applies the methods and theories of his field to a virtual world accessible only through a computer screen...[He] spent two years participating in Second Life and reports back as the trained observer that he is. We read about a fascinating, and to many of us mystifying, world. How do people make actual money in this virtual society? (They do.) How do they make friends with other avatars? The reader unfamiliar with such sites learns a lot--not least, all sorts of cool jargon...Worth the hurdles its scholarly bent imposes. -- Michelle Press Scientific American If you thought a virtual world like Second Life was a smorgasbord of experimental gender swaps, nerd types engaging in kinky sex or entrepreneurs cashing in on real world money making possibilities, think again...Could Boellstorff be right that we're all virtual humans anyway, viewing the world as we do through the prism of culture? New Scientist Boellstorff's anthropologist's insight into advanced societies helps us to see them anew. Art Review Boellstorff's book is full of fascinating vignettes recounting the blossomings of friendships and romances in the virtual world, and musing fruitfully on questions of creative identity and novel problems of etiquette. -- Steven Poole The Guardian Where many of his colleagues insist on making a mystery of things that are straightforward (so to neglect mysteries real and pressing), Boellstorff is a likeable, generous, accessible voice... This book, once it gets down to it, does truly offer a detailed and deeply interesting investigation of Second Life. -- Grant McCracken Times Higher Education While it is geared toward anthropologists, the book will be of interest to a wide general audience, with the caveat that it may be helpful to keep a dictionary handy to decode some jargon... [Tom Boellstorff] provides us with a solid foundation for important discussions about he value of technology in our everyday lives. -- Peter Crabb Centre Daily Times This is a remarkable book. Tom Boellstorff has successfully achieved the extremely difficult task of writing a book that will appeal equally to the general reader and scholar alike. Coming Of Age In Second Life is well written, very well researched and whilst it does not get bogged down in academic detail and theory, it does provide reference to such theories that undergird the author's research. -- Rob Harle Metapsychology