Danny Yee
Encyclopedia
Book review
A book review is a form of literary criticism in which a book is analyzed based on content, style, and merit. A book review could be a primary source opinion piece, summary review or scholarly review. It is often carried out in periodicals, as school work, or on the internet. Reviews are also often...
s on a great diversity of subjects. Starting in 1992 via email
Email
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
, in 1993 via Usenet
Usenet
Usenet is a worldwide distributed Internet discussion system. It developed from the general purpose UUCP architecture of the same name.Duke University graduate students Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979 and it was established in 1980...
, and especially with their subsequent publication on the World Wide Web
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
, Yee's mostly self-published reviews are widely consulted by readers evaluating book titles.
Yee's reviews are frequently syndicated by the popular Slashdot
Slashdot
Slashdot is a technology-related news website owned by Geeknet, Inc. The site, which bills itself as "News for Nerds. Stuff that Matters", features user-submitted and ‑evaluated current affairs news stories about science- and technology-related topics. Each story has a comments section...
website, generally for reviews of books covering programming and technical topics. Examples include:
- August 21, 2006 review of Network Algorithmics: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Designing Fast Networked Devices.
- June 29, 2005 review of The Book of Postfix.
- April 29, 2005 review of Iron Council.
- February 11, 2004 review of Animal Social Complexity - Intelligence and Culture.
- November 5, 2003 review of The Visual Display of Quantitative Information.
Outside of online discussion forums, Yee's reviews are cited in academic articles and printed books, both for their content and as an illustration of the effect of internet distribution on modes of criticism and communication. For example, Critical Pasts discusses the social effect of Yee's reviews; in a similar vein The Art of Assessment treats Yee's work as a case study. Books such as Philip and Alex's Guide to Web Publishing find Yee's review prominent enough to feature in laudatory prefactory notes of later editions.
Yee has also published many of his reviews in printed journals and newsletters such as Linux Journal
Linux Journal
Linux Journal is a monthly technology magazine published by Belltown Media, Inc. of Houston, Texas. The magazine focuses specifically on Linux, allowing the content to be a highly specialized source of information for open source enthusiasts.-History:...
, Policy, Reports of the National Center for Science Education, and SAGE-AU's journal SAGE Advice.
Professionally, Yee works as a part-time computer systems manager for the Department of Anatomy and Histology, at the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
. He has been a board member of Electronic Frontiers Australia
Electronic Frontiers Australia
Electronic Frontiers Australia Inc. is a non-profit Australian national non-government organisation representing Internet users concerned with online liberties and rights...
since 1996 and was Vice-Chair from December 2002 to December 2003.