'The future's already here- it's just not evenly distributed'

William Gibson was writing fiction when he predicted the internet. And as his stories bled into reality so he became one of the first to report on the real-world consequences of cyberspace's growth and development.

Now, with the dust settling on the first internet revolution, comes Gibson's first collection of non-fiction - essays from the technological and cultural frontiers of this new world.

Covering a variety of subjects, they include-

• Metrophagy - the Art and Science of Digesting Great Cities
• An account of obsession in 'the world's attic' - eBay
• Reasons why 'The Net is a Waste of Time'
• Singapore as 'Disneyland with the Death Penalty'
• A primer on Japan, our default setting for the future

These and many other pieces, collected for the first time in Distrust that Particular Flavour, are studded with revealing autobiographical fragments and map the development of Gibson's acute perceptions about modern life.

Here then is a guide to the new territory we find ourselves in - written by one of its discoverers.

Praise for William Gibson

'A terrific writer. Gibson is a prophet and a satirist, a black comedian and an astounding architect of cool. He's also responsible for much of the world we live in.' Spectator

'Part-detective story, part-cultural snapshot . . . all bound by Gibson's pin-sharp prose.' Arena