The internet is magical.  For the vast majority of us, the internet begins with a hole in the wall and ends on our screens.  And if we use mobile or wifi, I doubt our image would even extend that far. But for all that magic, the internet is nevertheless a real place with physical parts.  Pretty unimpressive ones, actually, a bit like the router in your house: big black boxes with flashing lights and wires coming out all over the place.

Andrew Blum explores these places, visiting server farms that route traffic across the planet, meeting engineers who maintain the hub through which most of that traffic passes, and even paying homage to its creators in the very room where early strides were made, all the way back in the '60s.

This book isn't intended or designed for teens, but given how huge a part the internet plays in the lives of everyone, let alone kids, these days, it's pretty darn neat to see what is involved as something so seemingly simple as sending an e-mail.