This Is for Everyone

A Waterstones and Financial Times Book of the Year 2025
The instant Sunday Times bestseller

‘Charming, clever, self-effacing, interesting and thoughtful’ – The Observer
‘Visionary . . . Full of warmth and humanity’ – Kate Bush
‘A remarkable book by a remarkable man’ – The Mail on Sunday

The groundbreaking memoir from the inventor of the World Wide Web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee. This is the story of our modern age.

The most influential inventor of the modern world, Sir Tim Berners-Lee is a different kind of visionary. Born in the same year as Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, Berners-Lee famously shared his invention, the World Wide Web, for no commercial reward. Its widespread adoption changed everything, transforming humanity into the first digital species. Through the web, we live, work, dream and connect.

In this intimate memoir, Berners-Lee tells the story of his iconic invention, exploring how it launched a new era of creativity and collaboration while unleashing a commercial race that today imperils democracies and polarizes public debate. As the rapid development of artificial intelligence heralds a new era of innovation, Berners-Lee provides the perfect guide to the crucial decisions ahead – and a gripping, in-the-room account of the rise of the online world.

Filled with Sir Tim’s characteristic optimism, technical insight and wry humour, this is a book about the power of technology – both to fuel our worst instincts and to profoundly shape our lives for the better. This Is for Everyone is an essential read for understanding our times and a bold manifesto for advancing humanity’s future.

‘Who is the greatest living Englishman? It would be hard to argue against the merits of Tim Berners-Lee’ – Stephen Fry

Read a sample here