Rating: 
Summary: A satirical look at the some of the minds behind cybertech
Review: "The First $20 Million..." is truly an entertaining journey through the dreams, disappointments and above all, egos, that infuse the high-tech industry in Silicon Valley. Po Bronson's style is direct and journalistic, very much in the Tom Wolfe manner. Those who are acquainted with the oncoming battle between PCs and Network Computers will find the plot even more topical: it centers on the development of a programming language strikingly similar to Sun's Java. Be forewarned, it is more a "Bonfire of the Vanities" than a "Primary Colors," and those looking for a straight thinly masked versions of today's industry moguls may be disappointed (although watch for a great lampoon of Intel Chairman Andy Grove). While clearly satirical, the novel is tempered with believable and sympathetic characters, which make it far more interesting than a simple "roman-a-clef" for industry insiders
Rating: 
Summary: Corporate strategy in a gripping novel
Review: 'The First $20 Million Is Always the Hardest' is the story of 4 geeks trying to get their start-up off the ground. The characters are funny, as are the situations they get theirselves into. I read this after reading another Po Bronson book, 'The Nudist on the Late Shift', which is non-fiction. I think 'The First $20 Million' is a good fictional companion to 'The Nudist'. Anyone who considers themselves related to the computer culture will find this book interesting. The book does seem a bit outdated now though, after the dot-com cycle.
Rating: 
Summary: Fun, Fun, Fun . . . then Fizzle
Review: Author and Silicon Valley insider, Po Bronson, writes a very funny novel about four quirky guys with the right stuff who want to create something that matters in the realm of computers. From cutting edge software and hardware development companies to Palo Alto think tanks, the plot follows the creation of a less than $300 computer from a list of low priority projects at the think tank level to the actual modeling of a prototype that gets one rival top dog engineer's undies in a knot. The trials and tribulations that face the group compare to the highs and lows of an EKG with enough back-stabbing, personality manipulation and corporate espionage to keep the reading at a wonderous pace up until the last 20 or so pages. The crafting of the dramatic persona, especially the four progtammer/hardware specialists hinges closely to the usual stereotypical portrayals of techno geeks seen in movies and television shows. However this does not detract from the fun level of the story; indeed one gets the sense that these portrayal closely model reality. What does detract is the rather abrupt ending which winds down what could have been an all out page-turning business adventure with a stop-on-a-dime conclusion that certainly did not satisfy me.
Perhaps having seen the rather burlesque film version of this novel, I naively was expecting more bells and whistles and a more thorough troncing of rival engineer and threat Benoit. It never came, but perhaps that is due to the fact that I know nothing about the world of Silicon Valley where Bronson's could-be spoofs on the computer industry's behind the scenes star would lose their bite. Happily, the novel does not force a romance between Caspar and his housemate as in the movie version; here the attraction is noted and the reader can use his imagination to determine the outcome. Thank you, Po.
All in all, I enjoyed the novel; I just wish it had a longer ending.
Rating:
Summary: Fun, Fun, Fun . . . then Fizzle
Review: Author and Silicon Valley insider, Po Bronson, writes a very funny novel about four quirky guys with the right stuff who want to create something that matters in the realm of computers. From cutting edge software and hardware development companies to Palo Alto think tanks, the plot follows the creation of a less than $300 computer from a list of low priority projects at the think tank level to the actual modeling of a prototype that gets one rival top dog engineer's undies in a knot. The trials and tribulations that face the group compare to the highs and lows of an EKG with enough back-stabbing, personality manipulation and corporate espionage to keep the reading at a wonderous pace up until the last 20 or so pages. The crafting of the dramatic persona, especially the four progtammer/hardware specialists hinges closely to the usual stereotypical portrayals of techno geeks seen in movies and television shows. However this does not detract from the fun level of the story; indeed one gets the sense that these portrayal closely model reality. What does detract is the rather abrupt ending which winds down what could have been an all out page-turning business adventure with a stop-on-a-dime conclusion that certainly did not satisfy me.
Perhaps having seen the rather burlesque film version of this novel, I naively was expecting more bells and whistles and a more thorough troncing of rival engineer and threat Benoit. It never came, but perhaps that is due to the fact that I know nothing about the world of Silicon Valley where Bronson's could-be spoofs on the computer industry's behind the scenes star would lose their bite. Happily, the novel does not force a romance between Caspar and his housemate as in the movie version; here the attraction is noted and the reader can use his imagination to determine the outcome. Thank you, Po.
All in all, I enjoyed the novel; I just wish it had a longer ending.
Rating: 
Summary: Insultingly stupid and extremely cheesy
Review: Bad characters, inane and obvious plot and zero writing style make this one of the worst books I've ever had the misfortune to read. If you have any interest in the world of business or silicon valley and the computer industry you should find this book laughable. And to make matters worse Po Bronson takes the kindergarten level theme and story so seriously it makes you doubt his credentials.
I actually thought this might be a fun read as I was going through a similar situation as the lead character but just found this to be insulting me on every single page. I hope Amazon don't take it as a spoiler if I tell you the ending is unbelieveably stupid. In a word: Avoid.
Rating:
Summary: Insultingly stupid and extremely cheesy
Review: Bad characters, inane and obvious plot and zero writing style make this one of the worst books I've ever had the misfortune to read. If you have any interest in the world of business or silicon valley and the computer industry you should find this book laughable. And to make matters worse Po Bronson takes the kindergarten level theme and story so seriously it makes you doubt his credentials.
I actually thought this might be a fun read as I was going through a similar situation as the lead character but just found this to be insulting me on every single page. I hope Amazon don't take it as a spoiler if I tell you the ending is unbelieveably stupid. In a word: Avoid.
Rating:
Summary: A Fun Read
Review: Great entertainment. Before you begin reading, a caveat. This book was written in 1997 so don't expect cutting edge insider views. Other reviewers wanted to see something highly technical and up to date, not going to happen.
Here's what to expect: a delightful and amusing tale of what happens to a group of dedicated and somewhat naive High Techies after they get set adrift from their cushy,ivory tower jobs and find themselves navigating the seas of the real world (circa 1996). Enough character development to allow you to sympathize with Team Plaid.
Are there stereotypes of engineers? You bet! Not depicted in a mean way, the iron men of high tech are portrayed as all too human. If you are not in the industry (or don't tend to be overly critical)and actually like to laugh out loud while you're reading you'll enjoy this novel!
Rating:
Summary: A fine bit of storyteling
Review: I feel that in this book, Bronson has humanized Silicon Valley to an extent. The main characters in this book are actually fleshed out characters and not stereotyped uber-geeks. Some of the other reviewers said that the book glosses over the technical aspects of computers too much. I disagree. I don't think Bronson dumbed down the computer explanations as much as summarized them in normal language. Having a lot of technical info in this book would detract from the main thing, which is the story. All in all, Bronson has written a fine book. The book has lots of twists and turns and is a page turned until the end.
Rating:
Summary: Wow...
Review: I haven't had this much fun reading a Silicon Valley culture book since Jerry Kaplan's Startup. It's very well-paced and easy to follow. I loved it! La Honda is a research center staffed by "ironmen" (the author's term for hard-core engineers) who want to design and build the latest and greatest technology (not for the money, but for the pride and thrill to be the first). At the time the story starts, the latest and greatest was a processor called the 686 (a spoof on the Intel Pentium's successor). Francis Benoit is the lead designer for this chip. Ever since the beginning, he's had a grudge against Omega Logic (a chip maker that sponsors several of La Honda's projects including the 686) for "dumbing down" his previous chip (the Falcon). He had designed the Falcon to be exponentially faster than its predecessor and capable of doing parallel processing. But because of business reasons, Omega only used one of the two chips being shipped with every system while charging a higher premium. That made the world think Francis wasn't able to deliver what he promised. He will stop at nothing to make sure this never happens to him again. Andy Caspar is the main protagonist of the story. He's an ex-employee of Omega, and a new employee at La Honda. All his life, he's wanted to develop software, but his first project was to do testing. He exelled at this. Naturally, when he had a chance to work on the 686 he quickly jumped in only to be talked down by Francis to work on another project (the sub-$300 machine) to guarantee him another year at La Honda. Little does he know that what he thought was a hopeless project would end up forcing him (and his three other teammembers) to part ways with La Honda and try to start up their own business. That's where this story gets interesting, and sheds light on the way Silicon Valley people work and think. This book shows what a dog-eat-dog world really exists in the realm of entrepreneurship. You can never trust anybody to truly mean what they say. Some people are master-manipulators and think it's the most natural thing in the world. Yet others, like Andy, need time to absorb all that's being done to him and fight back. The author has imbued Andy with a realism that endears. He's sensitive, caring and smart, yet not perfect. He's a good talker, but he's fairly gullible as well. Each of the other characters - Darrel, Salman and Tiny - are just as human as well. If there's one negative comment I could make, it would be to say that I wish the author pursued just a tad bit more the romance between Alisa (Andy's neighbor) and Andy. They're a cute couple. As the other reviewers have mentioned, this story pokes fun at the concept of Network Computers (sub-$300 PC) and the Java programming language (write-once-run-anywhere programs - the "Hypnotizer"). Don't let these concept overwhelm you or scare you into thinking this might be a book about technology. It really isn't. You don't need to know anything about computers to enjoy this book. At the core, this book is about relationships. The author does an outstanding job of revealing each character's vulnerabilities without diluting the plot. I highly recommend this book! LEAP rating (each out of 5):
============================
L (Language) - 4.5 (the interactions between each of the characters is what brings this book to life)
E (Erotica) - 0 (a slight hint of romance between Andy and Alisa)
A (Action) - 0 (n/a)
P (Plot) - 4 (Francis Benoit did have a grand plan for how it was going to be played out, or does he?)
Rating:
Summary: Great read
Review: I read this book in one sitting. I didn't want it to end. Great dialogue, funny, held my interest. Well written. I immediately got Bombadiers and it too did not disappoint.
Thank you, Po Bronson
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