金石堂虛擬實境（VR）再也不只是科幻小說的主流而已，近期更與 Oculus、Sony 及 HTC 等品牌公司合作並取得成功。但我們對於 VR 足以追溯到幾十年以前的歷史所知甚少，作者 David Ewalt 忠實紀錄了 VR 在冷戰軍事實驗室的起源，到幾十年前過度炒作的失敗產品，現今卻因為一個青少年玩家而讓 VR 的突破性成為可能。作者為主流的觀望者以及技術愛好者提供了一個獨特的視角，讓讀者能夠了解 VR 是怎麼發展至今，VR 未來的發展方向為何，以及VR 將改變我們生活的方式和原因。
（文 / 博客來編譯）
A fascinating exploration of the history, development, and future of virtual reality, a technology with world-changing potential, written by award-winning journalist and author David Ewalt, stemming from his 2015 Forbes cover story about the Oculus Rift and its creator Palmer Luckey.
Technology has often progressed in leaps and bounds, with life-altering consequences for humankind. From the telegraph to the television set to the internet and now we are confronted by the rise of virtual reality, aka VR. No longer just a mainstay of science fiction, VR has seen recent success with companies such as Oculus, Sony, and HTC. But little is known about its history, which reaches back decades. David Ewalt chronicles its origins in Cold War military laboratories, and traces it through decades of hype and failed products, to a nineteen-year-old video game aficionado from California whose advancements made the recent breakthroughs in VR possible. Turning to the future, Ewalt discusses the Silicon Valley giants who are now creating a new hundred-billion-dollar industry.
It’s a tale of booms and busts, of fortunes built and lost, and one teenage genius who succeeded where everyone else had failed. Writing for a mainstream audience as well as technology enthusiasts, Ewalt offers a unique perspective on how VR (as we will come to know it) got here, where it’s going, and how and why it will change the way we live. Rife with first-hand accounts and on-the-ground reporting, Defying Reality makes the argument that virtual reality has the potential to impact every aspect of our social and indepedent lives, from gaming and entertainment to commerce to medicine to warfare, and much more.
