Though he feels uneasy with being called the "father of the Internet," Vint Cerf is undoubtedly one of the key players, if not the central figure, who made it a reality and ushered in the Information Age. He insists that numerous people, including his longtime collaborator Robert Kahn, were involved in the undertaking that eventually linked the world's computers. Cerf and Kahn devised and fine-tuned the set of protocols, known as TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol), that allows networks to hook up with one another and share information, without regard to media or borders. The Internet joins wires, radio, and satellites together to allow users around the globe to access a universe of information, from recipes to political doctrines to scientific papers. For his efforts in the computer field, Cerf has won a bevy of awards, including the National Medal of Technology in 1997 (along with Kahn...