Common Knowledge?: An Ethnography of Wikipedia projects, its budget, the activities of the Wikimedia chapters of volunteers who organize for their own projects, or any individual project. As founder of Wikipedia, Jimmy Wales has a unique relationship with the Wikipedia community. The Wikimedia community has recognized him as a classical authority figure. His primary role is as a spokesperson for the movement. The author describes his role in the Wikimedia movement, asserting 6 years of ethnographic research while also being a community member. Academic criticisms of Wikipedia's overall model are summarized. A reviewer for "Vice" called the book "both primer and detailed study on the habits
The Wikipedia Revolution Lih describes the importance of early influences on Wikipedia including Usenet, Hypercard, Slashdot, and MeatballWiki. He also explores the cultural differences found within sister projects such as the German Wikipedia, the Chinese Wikipedia, and the Japanese Wikipedia. The book also covers the Citizendium project, originally a fork of Wikipedia by co-founder Larry Sanger. There is a foreword by Wales, and an afterword partially created by volunteers through an online wiki detailing the problems and opportunities of Wikipedia's future. The Wikipedia Revolution The Wikipedia Revolution: How A Bunch of Nobodies Created The World's Greatest Encyclopedia is a 2009 popular history book