Technology's influence upon our sense of self and our consciousness of the world around us has been a subject of increasing concern in recent years. Offering a provocative new perspective, this deeply personal book by the late Alan C. Purves, renowned literacy scholar and English educator, embraces as its focus the electronic medium known as hypertext. Elucidating vital connections between the written word and how human beings think, communicate, and worship, Purves thoughtfully examines the vast implications of hypertext for our society's conception of literacy and our philosophical and spiritual lives. An erudite, engaging, and far-reaching investigation of how computers have affected our conception of ourselves as literate, social creatures, this volume will be read with pleasure by students and scholars of education, communication, philosophy, and religion, as well as interested general readers.