As you might guess by the title, "The Tyranny of E-Mail" declares that what started as a blessing has become a curse that gets worse.

In this book, subtitled "The Four-Thousand-Year Journey to Your Inbox," author John Freeman says that tending to our e-mail has:

— Eroded our productivity.

— Stolen our free time.

— Isolated us from real-life contact with other people.

— Coarsened our sense of courtesy.

— Turned us away from literature and serious journalism.


And more, much more. In an entertaining, easy-to-read style, Freeman details what has happened ever since communication moved beyond face-to-face conversation, from clay cuneiforms through the telegraph and beyond.

This book is a fascinating mixture of philosophy, psychology, history, sociology, electronics and economics. Freeman, a critic who has reviewed books for the Post-Dispatch and other newspapers, is now editor of Granta magazine. Even readers who disagree with his disapproval of

e-mail can enjoy his breezy look through the centuries at human communication. Each step improved life, he says — until e-mail arrived.

Now, he says, office workers must deal with 200 or more messages a day. He cites a survey in which 60 percent of those responding admitted that they checked e-mail while using the bathroom. Another grim statistic: "Sixty-five percent of North Americans spend more time with their computer than their spouse."

Well, yes, you might say — but what's to be done? For better or for worse, e-mail is here for good. Freeman can hardly copy William F. Buckley Jr. by standing astride history and shouting, "Stop!"

And in truth, Freeman admits as much. But at book's end, he offers some practical and down-to-earth suggestions for shedding much of the weight of e-mail. "We need to slow down," he says. This dandy little book will help you do just that.



Harry Levins of Manchester retired in 2007 as senior writer of the Post-Dispatch.