The Information Age has arrived -- but not in person. Technology is overwhelming us with information, much of it unwanted, driving out the sound of human voices. We now spend our days exchanging factoids, often in print, leaving us little time to "just talk." But it's ordinary social talking, including gossip and small talk, that keeps us together. If we lose these intimate forms of self-expression, says John Locke, we lose more than we realize. Talking, like the grooming of apes and monkeys, is the way we build and maintain relationships. People in relationships are able to trust and to help each other. Our great-grandparents wouldn't make a deal with someone they couldn't look in the eye, shake hands with, or talk to face-to-face. Our voices gave us identity. But then a variety of factors changed society: the growth of cities, followed by suburbanization, left us living in places where we don't know or care about our neighbors; then we began to bank and shop by computer, to work fr . CLICK HERE TO START DOWNLOAD