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EXTRA LIFE: COMING OF AGE IN CYBERSPACE

By David S. Bennahum

Basic Books, 238 pages, $23

In 1973, 5-year-old David Bennahum first spotted the game of Pong at a French hotel. His infatuation with the glowing ball and electronic paddles triggered a lifetime of interest in games, computers and all things technological. Although Bennahum, a contributing editor for Wired and Spin magazines, might seem young to be penning (or processing) his memoir, he seems to be just the right age to comment on digital culture and the computer revolution. The title is drawn from an unlikely source: the instructions for Atari Missile Command, 1980.