Wired - A Romance

Rating:
Summary: Slim Volume For Nerds' Summer Enjoyment
Review: I read Gary Wolf's 262-page account of the founding of Wired Magazine by Louis Rossetto and his moll, Jane Metcalfe, in one sitting. The subtitle, "a romance," is more about Louis' remarkable (half mad) passion for publishing in the digital age than about his courting of the beautiful Jane. Louis' passion for Jane is likely to have been great too since they are still together today living in France with children and $30 million (small change for a position thought to be worth hundreds of millions two years earlier) from the buyout of Wired by current publisher, Conde Nast, in 1998.

I have read Wired since its beginning but have tossed my copies. After reading this book I bought a nearly complete set of issues on Ebay for the first seven years (1993-2000), including the premier issue from January 1993, thinking I would enjoy reading some of the early issues again. In any case, they look nice in my library.

The author is a Wired editor with first-hand knowledge of all but the earliest of Rossetto's years at Wired.

If you are fond of the history of Silicon Valley (as I am), then this is for you. Otherwise there is not much here for the average Joe.

Rating:
Summary: The Beginnings of Wired Magazine
Review: This book is well written and an easy read - it's hard to put the book down. Wired-A Romance is a story about the people who started the cutting edge magazine Wired. People interested in the beginning of the Internet revolution should find the book fascinating. Also, people interested in the business of starting a company and seeing where the big monetary payoff comes will also find it worthwhile.

The founder of Wired, Louis Rossetto, is strong-willed man and in the early 1990's has a definite view on how the world will change with the upcoming wired revolution. Rossetto's vision and character are essential for the magazine's quick success, but later these same traits almost cost the magazine's investors dearly.

An interesting tale by a talented writer. I recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: The Beginnings of Wired Magazine
Review: This book is well written and an easy read - it's hard to put the book down. Wired-A Romance is a story about the people who started the cutting edge magazine Wired. People interested in the beginning of the Internet revolution should find the book fascinating. Also, people interested in the business of starting a company and seeing where the big monetary payoff comes will also find it worthwhile.

The founder of Wired, Louis Rossetto, is strong-willed man and in the early 1990's has a definite view on how the world will change with the upcoming wired revolution. Rossetto's vision and character are essential for the magazine's quick success, but later these same traits almost cost the magazine's investors dearly.

An interesting tale by a talented writer. I recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: No new information you wouldn't already have.
Review: While not poorly written you will find yourself skipping pages in this book. Gary spends a great deal of time telling you about the characters habits, backpacking, flower pots, pets and such in much more detail than he does about the actual company and magazine.

OK, but a VERY quick read.

Rating:
Summary: Coming Unwired -- a tale of the dot NOT com
Review: Wired, a romance is a fascinating tale. Author Wolf is a contributing editor at WIRED magazine and he tells this story with an insider's viewpoint. No doubt WIRED changed modern journalism, but how much did it contribute to the bluff and fluff of the Dot Com era that soaked so many average investors? That's a tale that Wolf never quite measures up in. More business data would have been helpful. But we get the flavor of the times. WIRED should have and actually DID see the diversification of the communications world and the convergence of telecom, film, records, books and more. They did issues on BIOTECH and covered new technologies but the flavor of the time was DOT COM and somehow they became entwined in the not com aspect of what went wrong in the 90's. Wolf's viewpoint is only part of the larger story of why they didn't go public and how they managed to sell out for a fortune to Conde Nast. It's a pleasant read but most of us on the seesaw knew the story well. What we need really is a skyhigh view of what it was all about and the good and the bad and the ugly that evolved from that Silicon Valley bubble that almost blew us all away.