Joshua Cohen's Novel “Book of Numbers” Examines the Digital Age

Joshua Cohen’s 2015 novel *Book of Numbers* is a satirical, metafictional work that traces the evolution of information technology from ancient writing systems through the printing press and punch‑card computers to today’s Silicon Valley. The story follows a protagonist who becomes the ghost‑writer of another Joshua Cohen, juxtaposing a Jewish journalist who despises digitalisation with a tech‑industry guru who shapes it.

The book links the 1960s counter‑culture to modern cyber‑culture, referencing real events such as the WikiLeaks disclosures and ending just before the rise of large‑scale artificial‑intelligence hallucinations. Critics have compared it to Dave Eggers’s *The Circle*, noting its broader historical scope and its use of “unredacted” tone‑protocols to satirise contemporary digital life. Published by Penguin Random House, the novel has been described as a “historical novel about our present”.