Version zero was great, but the new version 0.5 is here.

Marks and Meaning creates a new medium - the unfinsihed book. Dave Gray is to be congratulated for pioneeting this new genre. As an author I have often felt frustrated by the fact that once one of my books has been published I immediately think of someting I would like to add. Dave has solved this problem. It will be fascinating to see how his book evolves.

In the edition I read (Version 0 of late 2008) I found tons of useful information both visual and textual. Dave has a lot to teach about the organization of information.

I recommend this book highly. It is truly innovative both for its content and the medium it deploys.

Robert K. Logan - Chief Scientist - Strategic Innovation Lab - Ontario College of Art and Design

There are several fronts on which this book deserves praise.

First, there is the innovation of a book which is not only unfinished or in-progress, but an "open book" which invites the meaningful marks of its readers. It is a book that asks us to become more than simply readers, but writers, critics, storytellers, and fellow-travelers.

Second, Dave's thoughtful introduction to the breadth and scope of his thinking and work. I wrote in the margin of one page: "Dave Gray is an evil genius." I meant this comment to invoke the evil genius Rene Descartes imagines might be deceiving him as he tried his radical thought experiment to try to doubt evreything he could about the world he knew. Dave's project here has something of that kind of radicalism about it.

Finally, Dave's book ought to be celebrated for not only making us think, but for making us draw, scribble, and chicken-scratch our way out of established ways of communicating: to look for something better and to share it with others.

Dave Gray once again demonstrates thought leadership by publishing this book in progress, called version zero. It takes some courage to publish a paperback at this stage of writing when ideas and structures are still emerging, even if the ideas are great. Not everybody will understand and appreciate the idea behind it. Yet, it is exactly at this stage, when ideas are still crude, that you would want to seek feedback from early adopting readers. It creates true co-creation.

Personally, I very much enjoy being given the chance to participate as a reader at this early stage. Dave has already been sharing his ideas on his blog for a long time, but the “early-stage” paperback creates a whole new format of interaction. I can take the book to the beach, scribble into it in the train, rip out pages and so on… There are some things that remain more natural on paper.

Dave Gray must be congratulated for trying out this book experiment. I’m already curious about other readers’ thoughts and comments about the interesting content and then… of course… I’m looking forward to the next version: zero-dot-something.

Marks and Meaning: Innovative, thought-provoking and intellectually juicy. Each page offers savory bits of information that absolutely turn the brain ON. Love the concept - to co-create a book with the author and to make it your own by sketching within - and love the content. The information age needs a book like this, and the fact that the drawings are beautiful makes it even more worth the read. Two thumbs up.