Barbarians Led by Bill Gates: Microsoft from the Inside

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Attack On MS From An Insider
Review: An insider's account of the development of windows and related events, Barbarians is excellent reading. It explodes the right wing fetish about the genius of Bill Gates, and nullifies the equally baseless conservative notion that huge bureaucratic enterprises are efficient, as long as they are private. It is also quite revealing of the dangers of allowing the monopolistic practices of any business to remain unchallenged. The thuggish tactics of Microsoft, from it's days as a IBM toady to it's genesis as Corporate bully number one, coupled with the mindless greed, the idea theft and the thick headed stupidity of the Microsoft upper management reveal the true nature of the corporate capitalist state. Worse for Chairman Bill, the book cannot be dismissed as the sour grapes ranting of unhappy competitors since Eller made millions as a Microsoft software developer and Edstrom is the daughter of one of MS' chief PR goons. Barbarians should be read by fans and foes of Microsoft alike, if for no other reason than to witness the alienation and frustration of all corporate employees, even those that are millionaires. Death to the corporate state.

Rating:
Summary: Hold your nose and read
Review: As others have pointed out this first person/third person thing is quite hilarious. After about the second or third time you come across this "Eller" fellow who seems to be always on the scene and always right, you look back and see his name on the cover. But the funnier one is every now and then you can almost hear Jennifer Edstrom saying "and then mommy saved the day again ..."

However I did give it more than the minimum, because I do think there is value in getting a perspective from what it looked like from the front line. I did finish the book, and I think I got some insight into Microsoft.



Rating:
Summary: Barberians Led by Bill Gates
Review: I feel sorry for author. Dennis Welt BC Canada

Rating:
Summary: Grudge Venting
Review: I should firstly point out that I am very anti-Microsoft. So I guess I should enjoy any read that takes time to bag them. However, I found this book to be a waste of time.

I gave up halfway through this book. I very quickly realised that what I was reading was an immature persons view of a company that Marlin had felt had not listened to his ideas. Most of the time the authors are explaining how great Marlin Eller and his work was, and how Microsoft made a mistake not listening to him.

I also heard the authors speak at a convention. They spent the hour contradicting and arguing with each other, like spoilt siblings.

From the book and the talk, it is very apparent that Jennifer Edstrom has a problem with her mother, and Marlin still holds a grudge against Microsoft.

Don't waste your time on this book. Find a less biased account.

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating, very biased "insider view"
Review: It's always good to have an "insider's view" book. At the same time, when this guy is an ex-employee, you should always ask yourself: why did he leave, and what does he have to gain from writing a book like this?

The authors are evidently very anti-Microsoft, yet at the same time their stories come across not so much as how stupid Microsoft is, but how mismanaged and lucky Gates & Company have been, which is closer to the truth than many people think. Some other books describe Gates and his employees as evil, but this book would characterize them as rather incompetent. It offers a detailed look into how Microsoft committed so many business goofs and yet every time it would come out the winner. After reading it you may even feel sorry for Bill Gates for having to fight so many enemies on so many fronts, some internal.

A book worth reading.

Rating:
Summary: Barbarians Led by Bill Gates
Review: The book was a well written account, some other titles which may be of interest are; 'hackers' by Steven Levy, 'Fire in the Valley: The making of the Personal Computer', 'Pirates of Silicon Valley' (movie). Reading/viewing these titles before 'Barbarians Led by Bill Gates' will provide a good chronology.

Rating:
Summary: Too Much Ego, Too Little Else
Review: There is probably an interesting story in this book, but I could not get past the turgid writing to find it. As a professional writer, Edstrom should have persuaded Eller to let her rewrite the book to make it more interesting. Unfortunately, Eller views himself as some kind of interesting character, which he is not. Since he insisted upon writing the book in the third person, Eller's name appears repeatedly on every page, which quickly becomes tiresome. If Eller's ego would not permit him to write as an omniscient narrator, he should have used the first person viewpoint. As it is, an otherwise excellent story is amateurishly told.

Rating:
Summary: Worth reading
Review: This book is easily read in one or two sittings. Highly readable, not dry or boring at all, even though the authors do have an axe to grind. Anyone who has an interest in the history of the computer industry will find it very entertaining. If you liked "Fire in the Valley," as I did, this is a supplement to that book with a focus on Gates and Microsoft. At the price of $4.99 (as of 7-05-2001) you can't beat it for some light summer reading!