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left_coast_justin's review
3.0
I really didn't enjoy this book at all, but that's partially my fault. In my view, the best thing about it is that it has launched Mr. Goodell's career, where he has since done good things.
I've lived and worked in Silicon Valley since the 1990's, which is when the story told here was winding down. The essential story here is that children growing up in the Valley in the 1970s and 1980s were poorly served by their parents, their schools and their communities, and so a lot of these children ended up self-destructive, miserable, or fleeing to other, friendlier climes. I don't dispute this, nor did I detect much self-pity in Goodell's recounting, to his credit.
However, I am sour on this book because it reminds me of how many middle-class Americans are lashing out at immigrants -- 38% of the population of Santa Clara County, where Sunnyvale is, are foreign-born. But the problems with drugs, alcohol and self-destructive tendencies in our society are entirely home grown, as this book illustrates.
I've lived and worked in Silicon Valley since the 1990's, which is when the story told here was winding down. The essential story here is that children growing up in the Valley in the 1970s and 1980s were poorly served by their parents, their schools and their communities, and so a lot of these children ended up self-destructive, miserable, or fleeing to other, friendlier climes. I don't dispute this, nor did I detect much self-pity in Goodell's recounting, to his credit.
However, I am sour on this book because it reminds me of how many middle-class Americans are lashing out at immigrants -- 38% of the population of Santa Clara County, where Sunnyvale is, are foreign-born. But the problems with drugs, alcohol and self-destructive tendencies in our society are entirely home grown, as this book illustrates.
craniac's review
3.0
I spent the first 11 years of my life in Sunnyvale. I wanted a book that included more of the city as a character. The prose felt almost too journalistic. Despite my misgivings I stayed up until 2:00 a.m. to finish it.
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