William Gibson, Dennis Albaught, and Kevin Begos, Jr., worked together to write the book called Agrippa: A Book of the Dead. This book was designed to make readers appreciate good books; it tries to get back into the art of storytelling and combines reading with computers. The authors believe there in the importance of the art of writing, and they tried to show that in his new book. They all want to preserve art and reading in this new cyberspace world. In "The Disappearing $2,000 Book," Gerald Jonas describes how they go about transmitting that desire to an audience through their innovative text.

Jonas begins by telling how, at one time, stories were memorized and relayed orally from one generation to the next. These stories were told in play format and, as soon as the stories were written on paper, they began losing their meaning. This is one reason that Gibson and his cohorts wanted to write a "self destroying" book. If readers really wants to share the text with someone else, they would almost have to remember the whole story the first time that the book was read and then be able to explain its story without losing the meaning. This might even bring storytelling back to life.

There are 95 copies of the book, all of them self-destroying. The first 93 pages are written on old paper, which looks like it has survived a fire. The only thing that is written on that page is the four-letter code of DNA. The writing of the text is designed to come off with the slightest touch. The last sixty pages are formed together as a block holding a computer diskette. The authors worked with a team of hackers to create a program that will erase the written words as soon as they are off the screen. The reason all of this happens is to make people respect books and take care of their treasures. By writing this story on a computer disk, they create a link between new technology and an old pastime. Most writing is being done on computers, and the average person spends more time behind a computer rather than behind a book. By linking the two together, the authors give the public a chance to read while being on the computer or in a cyberspace network.

Storytelling is an art that is fading away as new technology comes around. We might be able to spend better quality time with loved ones if we took some time and told stories or even read some books to each other. Maybe this would bring back some good family morals that have disappeared within the last few years and give parents a chance to communicate with their children.

People need to appreciate books more than they do. It is easy for people to damage a good book and not think twice about it, so they end up going out and buying it again. There is so much information in books that people can learn--they just have to want to find it and take care of the source. Writing a disappearing book will help people learn how to take care of not only the knowledge contained in the book but also the book itself.

Jonas, Gerald. "The Disappearing $2,000 Book." CyberReader. 2nd ed. Ed. Victor J. Vitanza. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon, 1999. 287-289.