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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
i bought this book a long time ago and never got around to reading it till this past week. i'm actually glad that i waited as the book now serves as a poignant reminder of good old days gone by..."The New New Thing" is a look at Silicon Valley in the 90's. Michael Lewis chose to profile Jim Clark as his paragon of the era, and a mighty wise choice he made. Clark is one of the biggest characters in a Valley of big characters. the story of Clark's rise from a hick from Plainview, Texas, through the Navy, then on to grad school and then Stanford where he "invented" 3D graphics, going on to found Silicon Graphics, then Netscape and then Healtheon is fascinating. i especially enjoyed the first half of the book dealing with the early days of SGI. i recognized the names of some of the people in the book as engineers i worked with while i was there, never knowing that they were actually co-founders of the company with Clark. all i knew was that the company had the best team of engineers i had ever seen. so sad that it all melted away.
Lewis, whose writing i have always enjoyed, interleaves the story of Clark's companies with the story of Clark's quest to build the world's biggest sailing vessel, the Hyperion, and to make the boat completely computer controlled. the anecdotes of the problems that the designers had in trying to automate a 200 foot boat are priceless.
the summary message is that Clark was focussed on doing the impossible and managed to drive people along with him. he was the perfect representative of the go-go 90's leading up the dotcom bubble. anything was possible, just don't ask too many questions about how we're gonna do it, cuz we don't know yet.
a great book for all techies.
Lewis, whose writing i have always enjoyed, interleaves the story of Clark's companies with the story of Clark's quest to build the world's biggest sailing vessel, the Hyperion, and to make the boat completely computer controlled. the anecdotes of the problems that the designers had in trying to automate a 200 foot boat are priceless.
the summary message is that Clark was focussed on doing the impossible and managed to drive people along with him. he was the perfect representative of the go-go 90's leading up the dotcom bubble. anything was possible, just don't ask too many questions about how we're gonna do it, cuz we don't know yet.
a great book for all techies.
I bought this solely based on the fact that it was written by Michael Lewis. I had no idea what it was about. Guess what? I loved it. Perfectly written. The subject is Jim Clark (who I barely remember) and the internet boom of the late 90s, which goes hand in hand with the Wall Street bubble created around it (which I recall vividly). I especially appreciated the detail around the sailboat venture; as the daughter of a sailor I know just enough to confirm that Jim Clark is a lunatic!!
This reads like a love letter to someone who gave the author enough stock in one of his startups to make him rich, and as a thank-you gift, he wrote this glowing tribute to greed. (Not suggesting this happened, but that's what it reads like.)
I'm a huge Michael Lewis fan, but this book is pretty bad, and has aged terribly.
I'm a huge Michael Lewis fan, but this book is pretty bad, and has aged terribly.
- Reads like a Silicon Valley script sometimes.
- Michael Lewis is one of the best non-fiction writers I've ever read.
- Much of what makes SV SV comes from this guy.
- Michael Lewis is one of the best non-fiction writers I've ever read.
- Much of what makes SV SV comes from this guy.
Re-read this for "reasons". Some interesting insights into Clark's character as well as the pervasive attitude in Silicon Valley during this time period. Some would say the amount of hot air being blown is comparable to today's tech climate, but I would argue that the current optimism is more grounded in reality. Lewis gets distracted by parts of the story that don't matter (automated sailboats) and some of the people I most want to hear from (on the ground engineers not making millions of dollars) get little page time.
Honestly, I'm a little amazed I hadn't read this before. Lewis' profile of Jim Clark is a fascinating snapshot of the dotcom boom, and he does a great job of distancing himself enough to put the reader in a place to make their own decision about the subject.
And as always, it's his ability to express his insight perfectly that make Lewis' work great.
And as always, it's his ability to express his insight perfectly that make Lewis' work great.
Everything in Silicon Valley, including the people, was built so that no one would find it tragic, or even a little bit sad, when it was destroyed and replaced by something new. It was one great nostalgia-prevention device. It ensured that the greatest wealth-producing machine in world history was never gummed up by pointless emotions.
Good story, not my favorite of Michael Lewis, and some stuff didn't age very well, but still a really cool overview of Jim Clark and the internet boom.
Quotes
- "Netscape IPO had triggered the internet boom."
- "[Jim Clark] His life was dedicated to the fine art of tearing down and building anew."
- "There is nothing more satisfying to me,” he said, “than to create a complete self-contained world when a computer is controlling it."
Quotes
- "Netscape IPO had triggered the internet boom."
- "[Jim Clark] His life was dedicated to the fine art of tearing down and building anew."
- "There is nothing more satisfying to me,” he said, “than to create a complete self-contained world when a computer is controlling it."
informative
medium-paced
An entertaining read. Jim Clark seems like a bit of a nut (a very rich nut)
funny
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced