Reviews (4)

A glimpse into the psychology and culture of Microsoft
While Microsoft enjoys a great reputation as an industry leader in its field, and while its business success has never been in question, there are all kinds of stories about what it is like to work there.This book gives the reader an inside look at what is was like as the company was getting started.This is important to note because most of these depictions are centered on the early days of the company, long before it became the large organization it is today.
Insiders Insights to Microsoft
As an ex-Microsoft employee I have read almost every book published about the company by both Microsoft people and external observers. This is the one I recommend to others who want to understand what it was like at Microsoft in the early years. This book is unique in that it does not try to "teach" you how Microsoft works, but rather it allows individuals who were there tell their unique stories to illustrate what it was like inside one of the fastest growing high-tech companies. Common experiences like how strange it was not having to beg for supplies or even ask permission to do something you thought needed to be done ("just exercise good judgement") ring true, as do the experiences of coming to grips with a growing company and balancing one's work and family time. Microsoft may not be like this today, but it accurately portrays the experiences in the early years through the first successful launch of Windows and Windows becoming a product that most of us use today. Remember these are the tales of people who had to explain to others that they worked for a small company in the Pacific Northwest that wrote software -- for Microsoft was not always the brand it is today.

Absorbing, entertaining look at Microsoft from the trenches
I read this book because a friend of a friend of a friend is one of the "insiders," and I thought it would be fun to see if I could recognize his story. I didn't have any specific expectations about the book as a whole - and I was surprised to find myself riveted from early on. These people tell their stories in a variety of ways, and they all had different experiences at Microsoft and came away with different perspectives - but they all tell the same very human tale of making hard choices, recognizing opportunity, dealing with disappointment, growing up, clarifying values, etc. The fact that the context is Microsoft definitely adds an interesting dimension to the stories, but this is more of a generic character study of smart young people struggling with the big questions of life (like money - lots and lots of money) than anything really specific to Microsoft. Also, I have to say that they're not all (at least from their stories here) likeable people - but that just adds to the realism of the book as a whole. This is a fascinating book! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Business & Economics    3. Business / Economics / Finance    4. Business/Economics    5. Computer Industry    6. Computer Industry (Economic Aspects)    7. Computer software industry    8. Corporate & Business History - General    9. Employees    10. History Of Specific Companies    11. Industries - Computer Industry    12. Industries - General    13. Microsoft Corporation    14. United States    15. Information technology industries    16. True Stories    17. USA   

Subjects:  1. 1911-    2. Biography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Business / Economics / Finance    5. Businesspeople    6. Computer industry    7. Control Data Corporation    8. General    9. History    10. History Of Specific Companies    11. Norris, William C    12. Norris, William C.,    13. United States    14. Business & Management    15. Social history   

Subjects:  1. Biography/Autobiography    2. Biography: general    3. Computer games    4. Hi-tech manufacturing industries   

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography - Science & Technology    3. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Biography    4. Children: Grades 2-3    5. Computers - Programming    6. Electronic data processing    7. Girls & Women    8. Hopper, Grace Murray    9. Navy    10. United States    11. United States.    12. Women computer engineers   

Subjects:  1. 1541-1613    2. Astronomy    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Computer Books: Languages    5. Computers    6. Cosmography    7. Gans, David ben Solomon,    8. General    9. History    10. History Of Science    11. Judaism    12. Medieval and early modern peri    13. Medieval and early modern period, 425-1789    14. Programming Languages - Pascal    15. Astronomy, Space & Time    16. Biography: historical    17. Biography: political    18. European history: c 1500 to c 1750    19. Former Czechoslovakia    20. Gans, David ben Solomon    21. Historiography    22. History of ideas, intellectual history    23. Jewish studies    24. c 1500 to c 1600    25. c 1600 to c 1700   

Reviews (2)

Mostly about the guy, not much about the experiment
Don't bother. This guy is a systems and process engineer, a robotics genius - and a megalomaniac who thinks he does real science. Surprise! He went to do his experiment and discovered that there are rules to real science, like Human Subjects Protection laws. This is a guy who thinks that if you feed each group of 10 schoolkids a different breakfast for a month and find a 3 point difference in IQ in the group that ate bacon sandwches, that proves that bacon raises IQ. He mixes up his psychological, biological and philosophical concepts, mostly because he really doesn't seem to have much grounding beyond the logic of systems - and his own desire to become the first cyborg. That huge book, and 95% is "me, I, me, I" about his papers, his trips, his projects, his jobs, his TV appearances, his publicity.
Interesting book
I would have liked to hear more of this experiment. From the writer experience, it appears that a body can be directly linked to a computer to do simple tasks like driving a wheel chair. Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Computer engineers    4. Cybernetics    5. England    6. Human-computer interaction    7. Integrated circuits    8. Robotics    9. Science/Mathematics    10. Scientists - General    11. Social Aspects - Human-Computer Interaction    12. Technology    13. Warwick, K   

Reviews (5)

Spotty and repetitive, yet..
This book is not for the connoisseur of Berlin's ideas and works; rather it is really a broad and introductory survey.The book is based on a series of largely unstructured conversations with Berlin about his personal past and better known works, as well as some of his views on others' famous works and ideas on philosophy.The interviewer, Ramin Jahanbegloo, cannot be faulted for his brief and often open-ended questions as he is clearly prodding Berlin to speak his mind.Berlin does seem to 'correct' the errors of his interviewer but this is to be expected from such a reknowned and learned philosopher.For those already familiar with Berlin, the responses are far from shocking: Hobbes and Machiavelli are, in fact, ethical thinkers; do be weary of those who propose rational, 100% 'final solutions'; 'total liberty can be dreadful, total equality can be equally frightful'; philosophy, if properly taught, allows one to see through 'bad arguments, deceptions, fumisme, verbal fog..'; etc.That said, it is a lighter read than any one of Berlin's books and, for anyone who is curious about Berlin's views on things, it just might a good place to start.

Isaiah Berlin is always interesting
Isaiah Berlin is one of the great intellectual figures of the twentieth century. He has been spoken of as the second greatest talker in the history of the English language( after Samuel Johnson) Here his remarks are a trifle short and yet there is enough substance in them to fill 'forty books' of others.
Not Much Here!
I am a huge fan of Berlin's writings. There have been several posthumous releases and I've enjoyed every one. Unfortunately, I enjoyed this one half as much as some others. Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Historical - General    5. Philosophers    6. Political    7. Social Scientists & Psychologists    8. Biography & Autobiography / Historical    9. COMPUTERS - Persnl Comptg TRD PB    10. History of ideas, intellectual history    11. Political science & theory    12. Western philosophy, from c 1900 -   

Editorial Review

If you want to understand the 1990s, you have to understand venture capitalists. These are the people who listen to business pitches by the score, the financial-world equivalent of miners turning over tons of earth in search of precious metal. They're looking for the next Amazon.com, the next Yahoo!, the next eBay. Randall E. Stross, who teaches business history at San José State University, just happened to be there when a firm called Benchmark Capital discovered eBay. Read more

Reviews (61)

a must-read for anyone in the startup world
As someone in the startup industry, hearing the VC point of view was very interesting. Add to that a refresher course on several of the important industry-shaping deals and an entertaining down-to-earth delivery style, and you got a certain winner on your hands.
Hubris meets Homoeroticism
I give this book 4 stars for its inadvertently hysterical comedy.Everything you need to know to understand how the tech bubble formed and why it burst so dramatically is here--not in the story the author tells, but in the pseudo-macho, we-are-the-masters-of-the-universe, lets-measure-each-other's-penises subtext that runs throughout.
A good read with some good lessons
I doubt "eBoys" was intended to read as a period piece, but it certainly does in the post-technology bubble world.There are a couple things that come across loud and clear: first, these venture capitalists were not blind to the bubble that was forming; second, if they wanted to stay alive and relevant in their field, they needed to keep financing new companies and unwillingly participate in furthering the bubble.
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Subjects:  1. Benchmark Capital (Firm)    2. Biography    3. Business & Economics    4. Business / Economics / Finance    5. Business/Economics    6. Case studies    7. Computer Industry (Economic Aspects)    8. Corporate & Business History - General    9. Electronic commerce    10. Entrepreneurship    11. Entrepreneurship Of Specific Groups    12. Finance    13. History    14. Investment bankers    15. Investments & Securities - General    16. United States    17. Venture capital    18. Business & Economics / Finance    19. Investment & securities   

Subjects:  1. Biography/Autobiography    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Computer industry    4. Electronic industries    5. History Of Specific Companies    6. Infrastructure    7. International Business Machine    8. Management    9. United States    10. Business & Management    11. Economic history   

Editorial Review

What a difference a century makes. Doron Swade, technologyhistorian and assistant director of London's Science Museum,investigates the troubles that plagued 19th-century knowledge engineersin Read more

Reviews (9)

One of the great accomplishments of the 19th century
Charles Babbage and John Herschel, the astronomer, were preparing tables for the astronomical society.They needed to check the work of computations by humans, by different computers.The need for tables was particulary important for navigators.The source of error in the tables was clear, human fallibility.The manual production of tables, calculation, transcription, typesetting, and proofreading created opportunities for error.The engine of change in 1821 was the steam engine.Charles Babbage wanted to produce a machine to produce error-free tables.
Wonderful Engines
This book has 2 basic parts.First, is the discussion of Babbage's life and his computing engines.Second, is the author's modern-day story of attempting to complete Babbage's Difference Engine, a feat which Babbage himself was unable to do.I picked up this book for the first part.I wanted to learn about Babbage and how his engines worked.While the author gives a wonderful account of Babbage's life and methodology, he does not clearly describe HOW these engines function.I realize that the engines are extremely complex, but a chapter on the functioning of the Difference Engine trial piece and some diagrams on its operations would have been much appreciated. Unfortunately, as were Babbage's contemporaries, we are left mainly in dark as to how simply turning a crank can produce the necessary additions.The author also never fully explains the "method of finite differences" upon which the function of the difference engine is based. Doron Swade's Quest to Build a Difference Engine
This is the first book I've read on Charles Babbage, but I imagine that there are others that are better.First, this book seems to assume you've already read a book or two about Babbage before.It almost has an apologetic tone and seems to be an answer to what, I assume, have been slights against Babbage and his work.Second, this book is as much about the author and his quest to build a Difference Engine as it is about Babbage himself.If you want to hear about dealing with office politics in an British museum, you may find this interesting.Read more

Subjects:  1. 1791-1871    2. 19th century    3. Babbage, Charles,    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. Calculators    8. Computer Science (Specific Aspects)    9. General    10. Great Britain    11. History    12. Scientists - General    13. Scientists - Inventors    14. Biography & Autobiography / General   

Reviews (3)

A Truly Elegant Book!
Dr. Goldsmith has given us an intimate look at the "man behind the myth", while Robert P. Libbon has suceeded in making Einstein's work understandable to the layperson who is willing to put in a bit of effort. I enjoyed the biographical content and figured I would have to skim the technical writing, not being well versed in such heady stuff, but found Mr. Libbon's historical anecdotes and entertaining explanations of Einstein's work to be just as compelling as the personal details of his life. Great, but I wish it had more science
I always have to qualify my weakness toward a book like this: that I'm not a "hard scientist." (In retrospect, I wish I'd had the inclination to become one while younger, but that's another story). This is a fine book, but I read the portions that I highlighted again and again, asI'm trying to understand, among other things, relativity better. But thatmay be my problem, more than the book's. Fun and Informative
This is the only book and CD-ROM set authorized by the Einstein estate. It is just GREAT!The book is well written, informative and accurate.The CD-ROM is filled with video and sound clips with Albert Einstein from thehistoric archives and contains thought experiments, virtual realitylaboratory that demonstrates the effects of relativity and more.This is amust have book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1879-1955    2. Biography    3. Computer Bks - General Information    4. Computers - General Information    5. Einstein, Albert,    6. General    7. History Of Physics    8. Physicists    9. Physics    10. Science    11. Science/Mathematics    12. Scientists - General    13. Theoretical Physics    14. Science / General   

Reviews (15)

Misleading, surprising lacking in insights
Barr acknowledges some well-known Microsoft idiosyncrasies, such as the overemphasis on puzzle-like tests during interviewing and the management affection (not so unusual among software management) for crazy long hours by programmers (apparently independent of results). However, all in all, who stays at Microsoft for 10 years and then has so much good to say but a die-hard? If you want to know everything you never wanted to know about API's and why your next release of a Windows release may have hundreds of API incompatibilties, this book may help you. I suspect an outsider could have written as "inside" a book on mattters of substance. It's not clear Barr has burned any bridges with Microsoft by what is revealed in this book: was that ever his intent? The title seems intended at face value.

Good history of Microsoft and the PC industry in general
I thought this was a great "trip down memory lane" in regards to the birth of the PC and Microsoft.Adam does a great job of providing history and context of the era.
honest, well-written, but long and ultimately disappointing
Adam Barr writes well. I found myself agreeing with several of his analyses: esp. his dissection of MSFT's evangelistic activities and his keen understanding of the api-itis that afflicts MSFT products today. Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography / Autobiography    2. Business    3. Computer Books: General    4. Computer software industry    5. Computers    6. General    7. History    8. Microsoft Corporation    9. United States    10. Biography: general   

Editorial Review

The PC business is full of rags-to-riches stories. But perhaps none is as dramatic as the rise of Dell Computer. In Read more

Reviews (121)

Lessons from a leader
Its important to distinguish the book from the leader/company that is Dell. The company and the person are outstandingly awesome while the book is "just great"!! The first part of the book deals largely with a quasi-autobiographical-chronological account of the tale from the high school summer job of Michael Dell to the $30Billion company that is Dell. In this journey, we read about some of the core values that seems to enshrine the man and his company and get a glimpse of the critical twists and turns that made his company what it is.
Useful only if you want to know Dell's history
Two parts in the book: one for Dell Co. development, another for Dell's management.
I am following Michael Dell Path
I started my business a year ago and my aim is to become one of the world top businessmen next to Bill Gates, Donald Trump, Michael Dell and others.
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Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography/Autobiography    3. Business    4. Corporate & Business History - General    5. Hardware - Personal Computers - General   

Reviews (1)

A great book
A very pleasant biography in an original format, allowing for a good understanding of the main character. Typical american biography, where few details are untold, and where the author remains "transparent".We have to assume that B.A.Toole likes Ada, since she wrote a book abouther, but we can't figure out why: was it beause she was Byron's daughter,or because she was Babbage's assistant, or because she lived an interestinglife, or because she worked on early computers, or for any other reason...It might be a quality of good biographers, but as a French guy, I like tofeel a greater intimacy between the autobiographer and the centralcharacter. A small disappointment: the lack of details regarding Ada'sprogram for computing Bernouilli's numbers. Having computed some of thoseby myself, I know what an advantage it is to have at one's disposal a goodalgorithm to shorten fastidious calculations. In Toole's book, thosenumbers are barely mentioned, and the chapter 12, even though revised by anUS Army colonel,doesn't explain why the Dept of Defense has chosen the ADAlanguage. This having ben said, I took a great pleasure in reading a bookwhich taught me a lot, even if Toole is too discreet on "anaffair" that young Ada had when she was 17 years old with one of herpreceptors (the great Turner?). Again the French side in me would haveliked more details on that topic... Iconography is nice and all graphicsare useful. All in all, a very good book to be read by all those who feelinterested by an extraordinary woman who remains too little known by thegeneral public. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Computer Science (General)    5. General    6. Historical - British    7. Historical - General    8. Mathematicians And Their Works    9. Women    10. Correspondence    11. Lovelace, Ada King    12. Ada Byron, Lady Lovelace    13. Charles Babbage    14. Computer History    15. Biography    16. Womens Studies    17. Metaphysics    18. Difference Engine    19. Lovelace, Ada King,   

Subjects:  1. Bibliography    2. Biography    3. Computer Books: Desktop Publish    4. Fiol, Szwajpolt,    5. History    6. History Of Books And Printing    7. Incunabula    8. Krakow    9. Krakâow    10. Origin and antecedents    11. Poland    12. Printers    13. Printing    14. d. 1525 or 6    15. Fiol, Szwajpolt    16. Printing & reprographic technology    17. Printing, packaging & reprographic industry    18. Social history   

Reviews (1)

A concise cultural history of our First Ladies
Betty Boyd Caroli has written a concise cultural history of our First Ladies.But her observations on how each era shaped the next was only mildly insigthful if not predictable hindsight.Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography/Autobiography    3. Computer Books: General    4. Computers    5. Data Modeling & Design    6. First Ladies    7. History - General History    8. Presidents    9. Presidents' spouses    10. Spouses    11. United States    12. United States - General    13. Women    14. Biography & Autobiography / Women    15. Politics | American Politics | Women & Politics   

Reviews (1)

Revealing
For those who were in Kenya during the SM saga, this book answers a lot of questions.Wambui is frank and gusty is this very revealing autobiography.She has a wonderful narrative style - it's very Kenyan.This book reveals alot about the machinations of the Kenyan Goverment during the saga.It is sad Wambui had to go through the grief of loosing a husband and loosing the battle to fulfill his last wishes. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1936-    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Computer Bks - General Information    6. General    7. Kenya    8. Otieno, Wambui Waiyaki,    9. Politicians    10. Women    11. Women And Politics    12. Women politicians    13. Women, Kikuyu    14. Africa    15. Biography: general    16. Death and burial    17. Otieno, Silvanus Melea    18. Otieno, Wambui Waiyaki    19. Terrorism, freedom fighters, armed struggle    20. Women's studies   

Reviews (16)

Too superficial
I picked this book up a couple of years ago and when I read it then, I thought it was too unreal, too fictitious. Everything the author wrote about Oracle was that Oracle is the paradise and there is not a thing wrong about Oracle. Insight & Frosting
Much of this work seems like a light and fluffy tribute to Oracle, without looking very hard at what might be ethical issues with the business practices described.If, however, you are negotiating a contract with Oracle, some of the basic hardball tactics described in the book will prepare you for the session and help to educate any starry eyed rookie team members regarding what they are up against when playing in the big leagues.

dead trees
Published in 2000, this book was in many respects already out of date.By now, more is.Much of what remains current is represented here by truisms and by gee-whiz exclamations, as for instance Read's goggling at Oracle's fitness center and cafeterias.He appears to subscribe to, and he promotes, a very unreflective adherence to Oracle business practices.Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Business & Economics    3. Business / Economics / Finance    4. Business/Economics    5. Businessmen    6. Computer Industry (Economic Aspects)    7. Computer software industry    8. Corporate & Business History - General    9. General    10. History    11. History Of Specific Companies    12. Industries - General    13. Infrastructure    14. Oracle Corporation    15. Programming - Software Development    16. United States   

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography/Autobiography    3. Computers    4. History    5. Biography: general   

Reviews (1)

It's like eavesdropping on a great conversation
This is one of the best business books I've ever read.Using a quasi-interview format, the author explores the concept of 'vision' with a variety of highly successful CEO's.The guy is a great interviewer.Heasks intelligent questions and lets people talk.Then he asks insightfulquestions and gets them to think.It's fascinating to hear what people intheir positions think about and how they think as well.The author givesenough background information and commentary to show how their thoughtshave shaped and been shaped by their business experiences.It'sinteresting, instructive, and a suprisingly good read.I'm sending a copyto my son who is just starting out in his career and recommending it to mybook club. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Computer industry    5. Computer software industry    6. Executive Management    7. High technology industries    8. Leadership    9. Management    10. Management - General    11. Special Industries Management    12. Biography: general    13. California    14. Information technology industries    15. Management & management techniques