“Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho” is more than the stories of the two 19 year-old boys it follows. It is a compelling profile of the changing structure of American society. Journalist and author Jon Katz’s narrative recounts the tale of two self-proclaimed computer geeks from Idaho who are able to use their self-honed computer skills to escape from a dead-end future of minimum wage jobs and meager social lives.
Jesse Dailey and Eric Twilegar are stuck in a rut in a hometown where their work is unfulfilling and any “real” living is done on the Internet, until Jesse contacts journalist Jon Katz via E-mail. Katz informs the boys that their computer skills are in serious demand, providing the catalyst that eventually lands the two technical jobs in Chicago.
“Geeks” was born from a series of articles Katz wrote for various technology websites and magazines. It is an interesting novel about friendship, isolation and, as Katz notes in his new afterward, the willingness to help change another person’s situation for the better.
The novel is also a timely social commentary. As Katz repeatedly notes, Jesse and Eric are lucky to live in a time in which the word “geek” is no longer a stigma. Today geeks possess admirable skills, from the ability to design a webpage to knowledge of programming codes, that put them in the demand of nearly every industry. Geeks have become society’s new elite.
Despite his proclamation that he was born too early to ever truly belong to the world of the computer geek, Katz has understanding and compassion for his subjects. Katz himself was an outsider in high school, where athletes are commonly glorified and smart kids are ostracized. He clearly channeled his own pain into the writing of “Geeks.” Unlike many journalists who tend to see the Internet as a means of isolation, Katz views the Internet as a tool that helps today’s geeks overcome their isolation and find understanding and acceptance. Jesse and Eric, who were shunned by their high school peers, found friends in the digital world of role-playing games and ICQ chat.
Although the narrative does drag at points, Katz’s understanding and appreciation for his subjects gives him a fresh voice in often overly-debated issues. For instance, the Columbine shootings occurred during the course of the narrative, a detail Katz does not fail to include. Instead of focusing on the potential causes of such a tragedy, he describes the fallout that resulted from the incident. Through E-mails he received from outcast teens, many of whom found themselves the targets of a witch-hunt to weed out potential killers, he shines a light on the cruelty endured by many teens.
“Geeks” is a book many readers (geek or not) will use to recognize a part of themselves. Katz, who through his work has remained in touch with the geek culture, is the ideal writer to bring the saga of the geek into the mainstream spotlight. Overall, “Geeks” is an uplifting and enjoyable story about triumph over adversity.
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