Rating: Summary: I was crying! Review: I read this book on a 8 hour flight to London. It was so hilarious I was crying. The person seated next to me at one point asked me what I was reading and wanted to read a paragraph or two. If you are involved in dot.com land or high tech you can relate to many of his stories and just how ridiculous the whole thing is. A great light hearted story about the over-hyped world of high tech.
Rating: Summary: stretches of boredom punctuated by moments of hilarity Review: Most of the book is about the author's journey from what he calls a "dilettante" (Pulp Fiction's Vince would have said "bum") to dot-com corporate drone wanna-be and back. It's generally bland, though the few funny bits are laugh out loud funny. I especially liked the 5th letter to Jeff ("Accident") and the description of the Pets.com business plan at the end of "Fiscal Wonderland". If you want to save a little time and money, read these two sections in a bookstore and you'll get the best of it.
Rating: Summary: More than what you expect... Review: I listened to the version read by the author on Audible, and want to offer a caveat I have not seen in other reviews: as the author states, those who are interest in a business book, or even an account at what Amazon was "really like" in the glory days are likely to be disappointed. Instead, the book is a very humorious memoir for about 2/3 of its length and an interesting, occasionally devastating (but still funny) look at the way the .com era affected the attitudes and expectations of the people trapped in it. While my personal attitudes differ from Daisy's, this was entirely rewarding and laugh-out-loud funny. I think that he did an excellent job reading the work as well.
Rating: Summary: How long can he spin this out? Review: He was a customer service rep answering emails all day, his claims of being a Business Development Hustler are false. The joke in all of this is not the book - it is Mike Daisy himself. What will he do after this?
Rating: Summary: The author shouldn't have read the audiobook. Review: This is a mildly interesting autobiography of the author's stint at Amazon. It mostly is an autobiography, but it is interesting enough to keep listening to. The major problem is the author's voice. It's simply annoying and his reading style is over-dramatic with too much emphasis on odd words. While listening, I couldn't help but think that a professional reader would have done much better with his material. Its hard to describe his voice. It's mostly whiny, with a little pseudo-intellectual in there as well. Objectively, his voice is not pleasant and his tone and inflection are extremely distracting. After awhile, I got used to it, but many or most may not.
Rating: Summary: Truly disappointing Review: If you are trying to learn about the inside operations, philosophy, dreams, etc. of a company this book is a complete waste of time. If you want to read the random whinings of someone who was a very poor customer service rep then this is the perfect book. All fluff no substance.
Rating: Summary: Only the play was better! Review: As an ex-dot commer myself, this book hits the mark on inane corporate culture over and over. The only thing even more brilliant was Mike Daisy's off-Broadway show by the same name. It was painfully funny. If he takes that show on the road (which may happen) don't miss it. CFC
Rating: Summary: A Lightweight. Don't waste your money... Review: I am a longtime customer of Amazon as well as a voracious reader concerning tech sector companies, startups, etc. Naturally my expectations of this book were very high. Now, after completing Daisey's whining saga (and it was a struggle), I'm beyond disappointed. At 222 pages, 21 Dog Years is a very light read. But worse, it's exceedingly short on information. There's very little of the inside stuff I wanted to know about working at Amazon, and way too much of the author's introspective philosophising. Mike Daisey and his struggle to find himself is simply not interesting. No wait, it's flat-out, mind-numbingly boring. Amazon.com on the other hand is a fascinating phenomenon on many levels, none of which are adequately addressed here. Sadly, we read way too much about Daisey & way too little about Amazon. There is a particularly annoying literary device that the author employs - fanciful e-mails to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. Were Daisey revealing real e-mails (and especially real replies) from Bezos, now THAT would be worth reading. 21 Dog Years, however, is not. I cannot say this strongly enough. Do not waste your time or your money on this book. Buy something worthwhile from Amazon instead. Let's hope that someone with genuine insight pens a book worth reading about the world's most fascinating dot.com.
Rating: Summary: Woof! Woof! (Translation: Hysterical! Brilliant!) Review: This was the funniest and most wickedly accurate account I've read about someone getting sucked inside the dot-com bubble. Daisey's writing is nimble, ruthlessly honest, and thoroughly engaging. From his early lust for office supplies to his infatuation with Jeff Bezos, Daisey manages to keep it blisteringly real and white-hot funny. Unlike the essay collections of David Sedaris, David Rakoff and the rest of the This American Life crowd, Daisey's writing and storytelling kept me riveted for the entirety of the book, sustaining dramatic tension while delivering the laughs. I've noticed that the majority of the stingy star-givers are from Seattle and/or Washington. Could these possibly be from Amazonians still high on the Kool-aid? Stop drinking that stuff, man, it's obviously killing your sense of humor.
Rating: Summary: A Must Read For Graduates of the Dot.Com World Review: Mike Daisy left his simple (slacker) life and was seduced into working for the mother of all dot.coms Amazon. This book is a wonderful and amusing look into what really happened (and maybe still does) at our beloved Amazon. Find out about the "Freak Parade" that takes care of all our problems, and everyone's desire to leave customer service. If you are a fan of Douglas Coupland's "Microserfs" or "Shampoo Planet" then this book is for you!
|