A colleague entered my office and saw Misunderstanding the Internet , the book I am reviewing, lying on my desk. His comment was: “Everything, we thought, would change with the internet and all the positive things we expected to happen – after reading this, I know it’s all wrong.” Misunderstanding the Internet indeed goes beyond techno-optimistic visions about the internet and uncovers myths about revolutionary changes in the digital age. The authors reveal the mismatch between the utopian ideas and the social, legal and economic concept the internet is based upon. James Curran, Natalie Fenton and Des Freedman present a critical perspective, based on a political economy of communication approach rooted in a Marxist tradition, to debunk the idea of the transformative power of the internet over society. By understanding these misconceptions, the book attempts to reinterpret the internet. From historical, legal, economic and political perspectives, the authors convincingly uncover many of the internet’s myths. The book is divided into three parts, each of them written by one of the authors. At the end of the book the three authors together draw conclusions based on their findings. In the opening chapters, James Curran creates a counter-argument to the prophecy of technology, “a belief that the internet is the alpha and omega of technologies, an agency that overrides all obstacles” (p. 3). He provides an overview of the various optimistic ideas about the internet as a technology of empowerment, democracy, economic growth and communication across national boundaries. Despite all the myths created around the internet’s empowering potential, Curran elegantly argues, the corporate “Goliaths contin