{"id":89560,"date":"2020-10-15T06:06:00","date_gmt":"2020-10-15T03:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/blockland-book-review-part-gonzo-part-bitcoin-thriller-100-recommended\/"},"modified":"2020-10-15T06:06:00","modified_gmt":"2020-10-15T03:06:00","slug":"blockland-book-review-part-gonzo-part-bitcoin-thriller-100-recommended","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/blockland-book-review-part-gonzo-part-bitcoin-thriller-100-recommended\/","title":{"rendered":"# \u2018Blockland\u2019 book review: Part gonzo, part Bitcoin-thriller, 100% recommended"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a418db212cdd\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a418db212cdd\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/blockland-book-review-part-gonzo-part-bitcoin-thriller-100-recommended\/#A_life_less_ordinary\" >A life less ordinary<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/blockland-book-review-part-gonzo-part-bitcoin-thriller-100-recommended\/#Once_upon_a_time\" >Once upon a time<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/blockland-book-review-part-gonzo-part-bitcoin-thriller-100-recommended\/#A_complete_history_of_%E2%80%A6\" >A complete history of &#8230;<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/blockland-book-review-part-gonzo-part-bitcoin-thriller-100-recommended\/#A_right_riveting_read\" >A right riveting read<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong># \u2018Blockland\u2019 book review: Part gonzo, part Bitcoin-thriller, 100% recommended <\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div data-v-5a136f3a=\"\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The first hint that <em>Blockland &#8211; 21 Stories of Bitcoin, Blockchain and Cryptocurrency<\/em> is perhaps not quite the same as the average book on the subject of crypto is splashed bold, right across its cover.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Eschewing the usual staid design cues, it instead features Trevor Jones&#8217; artwork, \u201cThe Ecstasy (Bitcoin Angel).\u201d The religious iconography of the image is striking, to say the least.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">And it is carried through to the language of several of the chapters (or stories), conveying both the almost mythical nature of Bitcoin\u2019s origin story and the devout faith of the many different flavours of crypto-believer.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">So could <em>Blockland<\/em> be Bitcoin&#8217;s first sacred text?<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1038\" height=\"659\" alt=\"Blockland\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.cointelegraph.com\/storage\/uploads\/view\/15cae1133850b03c7e7b1723c70caab7.png\" title=\"Blockland\"\/><\/p>\n<h2 dir=\"ltr\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"A_life_less_ordinary\"><\/span>A life less ordinary<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Before we get to that, I must confess that I could have easily taken an instant dislike to this book.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">In the foreword, the author, Elias Ahonen, describes a whistle-stop crypto-fuelled globe-spanning <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/trip-and-travel\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"10\" title=\"Trip &amp; Travel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">trip<\/a> of almost biblical excess, which brought back to mind the truly abominable <em>The Little Book of Crypto by Cal Evans<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">But while Evans&#8217; similarly incredible travel anecdotes seemed designed purely to express how much cooler than the reader he considers himself, Ahonen has us feel like we\u2019re drinking shots onstage at a huge Shanghai rap concert right alongside him.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">It captures the intensity and the insanity that can manifest itself in what is essentially still a prepubescent industry being showered with more money than it knows what to do with.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">So perhaps <em>Blockland <\/em>is actually cryptocurrency\u2019s first rock\u2019n\u2019roll biography?<\/p>\n<h2 dir=\"ltr\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Once_upon_a_time\"><\/span>Once upon a time<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The book tells 21 (often dramatized) stories of \u201cBlockland\u201d &#8212; the cryptocurrency space to you and me \u2014 starting with the creation of the first \u201cGolden City of Bit\u201d and the settlers who initially chose to inhabit it.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">It tells of the pioneers who then decided to strike out and establish new communities, and the many ordinary folk who were drawn to the Blockland\u2019s expanding world.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The chapter <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">theme<\/a>s range from the quasi-spiritual (Satoshi\u2019s Testament, The Sects of Satoshism), to the pioneer spirit (The Prospectors, Computing Frontiers), and even the spirit of excess (Mining Madness, Tulip Hangover)<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">While all of the underlying stories are true, the use of metaphor and allegory really does bring home what a magical and unlikely path cryptocurrency has taken to get here.<\/p>\n<h2 dir=\"ltr\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"A_complete_history_of_%E2%80%A6\"><\/span>A complete history of &#8230;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The fact that these seemingly disparate chapters pull together to tell a coherent (and pretty much complete) story of cryptocurrency\u2019s journey to date is very much to Ahonen\u2019s credit.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The author gives an even and unbiased view of the space in a manner that is both easily accessible and utterly charming. There is no papering-over of the darker elements of cryptocurrency, but the benevolent nature of the community also receives substantial page-time.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Ahonen&#8217;s previous book was the infinitely more straight-laced <em>Encyclopedia of Physical Bitcoins and Crypto-Currencies<\/em>, published in 2016, which led to him being described as \u201cone of the first Bitcoin historians.\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">While both books are technically reference works, Blockland feels more like a fictional thriller in its pace and style.<\/p>\n<h2 dir=\"ltr\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"A_right_riveting_read\"><\/span>A right riveting read<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">So\u2026 part holy scripture, part gonzo journalism, and 100% roller-coaster ride, Blockland succeeds amazingly in both mythologizing and explaining the current state of the cryptocurrency industry.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">This is the cryptocurrency book for people who are too cool to read cryptocurrency books. Buy it for yourself, then lend it to that friend you just know is a potential crypto-evangelist, if only they would take the time to learn about the subject.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Just make sure he or she returns it. It belongs on your bookshelf, after all.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><em><strong>The hardcover edition of Blockland: 21 Stories of Bitcoin, Blockchain and Cryptocurrency is available for pre-order from <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cryptonumist.com\/\">cryptonumist.com<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"font-size:11px;\"><em>The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author\u2019s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/general\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">General category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/news\/blockland-book-review-part-gonzo-part-bitcoin-thriller-100-recommended\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;# \u2018Blockland\u2019 book review: Part gonzo, part Bitcoin-thriller, 100% recommended &#8221; The first hint that Blockland &#8211; 21 Stories of Bitcoin, Blockchain and Cryptocurrency is perhaps not quite the same as the average book on the subject of crypto is splashed bold, right across its cover. Eschewing the usual staid design cues, it instead features&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":89561,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/s3.cointelegraph.com\/storage\/uploads\/view\/f92bedeb8910d66410d7b24827d932fc.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[74862,74863],"class_list":["post-89560","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-bitcoin","tag-cryptocurrencies"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89560","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89560"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89560\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89561"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}