Synopses & Reviews
As American capitalism undergoes a seismic shift,
Michael Lewis, author of the bestselling
Liar's Poker, sets out on a Silicon Valley safari to find the true representative of the coming economic age. All roads lead to
Jim Clark, the man who rewrote the rules of American capitalism as the founder of (so far) three multi-billion dollar companies--Silicon Graphics, Netscape, and Healtheon. Lewis's shrewd, often brilliantly funny, narrative provides ahead-of-the-curve observations about the Internet explosion and how the success of Silicon Valley companies is forcing a reassessment of traditional Wall-Street business models.
Weaving Clark's story together with that of this new business phenomenon, Lewis has drawn us a map of markets and free enterprise in the twenty-first century and blown the lid off the changing economy.
Review
"As Lewis looks at the various roles of venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and programmers and at how these very different mindsets fit together in the anatomy of big deals, he gives readers a sense of how the Valley works. But the heart of the book remains Clark, who simultaneously does everything from supervise the creation of what may be the world's largest sloop to creating his fourth company (currently in the works). Lewis does a good job of putting Clark's accomplishments in context, and if he is too respectful of Clark's privacy (several marriages and children are mentioned but not elaborated on), he provides a detailed look at the professional life of one of the men who have changed the world as we know it." Publishers Weekly
Review
"Clark proves to be a character as enthralling as any in American fiction or non-fiction....Lewis tells a great story in this book, with prose that ranges from the beautiful to the witty to the breathtaking." Fred Moody, The Wall Street Journal
Review
"[Lewis] does for the late 1990s world of techno-geeks and software cowboys what he did in Liar's Poker for the 1980s Wall Street world of traders and arbitrageurs." Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times
Synopsis
As American capitalism undergoes a seismic shift, Michael Lewis, author of the bestselling
Liar's Poker, sets out on a Silicon Valley safari to find the true representative of the coming economic age. All roads lead to Jim Clark, the man who rewrote the rules of American capitalism as the founder of (so far) three multi-billion dollar companies Silicon Graphics, Netscape, and Healtheon. Lewis's shrewd, often brilliantly funny, narrative provides ahead-of-the-curve observations about the Internet explosion and how the success of Silicon Valley companies is forcing a reassessment of traditional Wall-Street business models.
Weaving Clark's story together with that of this new business phenomenon, Lewis has drawn us a map of markets and free enterprise in the twenty-first century and blown the lid off the changing economy.
About the Author
Michael Lewis is the author of several books, including the international bestseller Liar's Poker. He has been the American editor of the British weekly The Spectator and a senior editor at The New Republic. He writes regularly for The New York Times Magazine and Bloomberg. Lewis lives in Paris with his wife, Tabitha Soren, and their newborn daughter.
Table of Contents
Preface
1. The Boat That Built Netscape
2. The Accelerated Grimace
3. The Past in a Box
4. Disorganization Man
5. Inventing Jim Clark
6. The Boom and the Mast
7. Throwing Sand in Capitalists' Eyes
8. The Great Brain Quake of August 9, 1995
9. The Home of the Future?
10. God Mode
11. How Chickens Become Pork
12. New New Money
13. Cheese Sandwiches for Breakfast
14. Could Go Either Way
15. At Sea in the Home of the Future
16. Chasing Ghosts
17. The Turning Point
18. The New New Thing
19. The Past outside the Box
Epilogue
Acknowledgments