This Is for Everyone

Tim Berners-Lee stands tall among our greatest inventors, making history not just because of the World Wide Web he pioneered but because he made it available free to everyone. Not only that, but his story of creativity continues: his Solid project seeks to put the control of technology where it should and must be – in the hands of the people – Gordon Brown, former prime minister of the United KingdomThis Is for Everyone takes us on a journey with this incredibly important man and his work as a visionary. Full of warmth and humanity, he is on a mission to fight for the integrity of the web, determined that his living, evolving creation will bring us all together in harmony – Kate Bush, humanThe World Wide Web is only thirty-six years old, but we already take it for granted. However, it did not happen by accident – first it had to be designed by someone. That someone is Tim Berners-Lee, and in This Is for Everyone he describes its creation. It is a great story, and the narrative is full of insights into the world of science and makes for compulsive reading – Lord Norman FosterThis Is for Everyone is more than just an autobiography. This book is an insightful recounting of the development of the World Wide Web and a profound declaration on how humanity should remain at the centre of technology as we move forwards in the twenty-first century – Al Gore, former US vice presidentWho is the greatest living Englishman? It would be hard to argue against the merits of Tim Berners-Lee – Stephen FryAs a company running computer networks before the dawn of the internet age, Bloomberg was an early beneficiary of the towering wave of change that Tim Berners-Lee ushered in with the World Wide Web. His book offers a fascinating look at the origin and evolution of a world-transforming invention and how we can harness its potential as a force for good – Michael Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg and Bloomberg Philanthropies and mayor of New York, 2002–2013Tim Berners-Lee’s invention of the World Wide Web is a landmark event of the last fifty years – and his tireless work to keep the web accessible to everyone is a service to humanity. In this absorbing, entertaining and all-important book, Berners-Lee tells the story of the web’s genesis, reckons with its evolution and offers urgent and visionary guidance for its future – Darren Walker, president of Ford Foundation and author of From Generosity to JusticeSir Tim Berners-Lee’s powerful memoir takes us on a guided tour through the creation and evolution of the web by the inventor himself with a humble, gripping, inspiring personal story. This is not just a history; it’s an extraordinary personal testament to human and technological potential and a critical reminder that as AI begins to even more dramatically transform our lives, we must work, as Tim does, to ensure that technology is built to nurture creativity, collaboration and compassion for all – Ruth Porat, president and chief investment officer of Alphabet and GoogleHow lucky we are that the first new major application built on top of the generative internet was Tim Berners-Lee’s brainchild, the web. The web’s affordances reflect Tim’s extraordinary brilliance, his deeply humanistic values and his humble outlook, and this book represents a definitive account of just how it worked. This Is for Everyone is both eye-opening memoir and stirring manifesto: the inventor’s sketch of how we got here and a road map for where we might still go, if we choose wisely – Jonathan Zittrain, cofounder of the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society, Harvard University; and author of The Future of the Internet—And How to Stop It

Sir Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web in 1989 at CERN in Switzerland. Since then, through his work with the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), The Open Data Institute and the World Wide Web Foundation he has been a tireless advocate for shared standards, open web access for all and the power of individuals on the web. A firm believer in the positive power of technology, he was named in Time magazine’s list of the most important people of the 20th century.