Rating: 
Summary: A most stimulating book on E-Commerce.
Review: A stimulating book which will provide any budding interpeneur with all the inspiration they need to get their web site off the ground. The individual case studies provide valuable insights into what really works to make your site successful. Overall a great read with many valuable lessons at a fraction of the cost it would take to learn in your own time - worth every penny or cent
Rating:
Summary: MUST READ If you are serious about business today
Review: Read it before your competitors do. (I've already beat you to it though!) Lucid, quick reading, no wasted words.
Rating: 
Summary: Poorly accumulated and organized examples of success.
Review: From the phony copyright date (1999?) to the rotten photos, I think this is a fine way for the author to clear out her unused newspaper article scribbles and rip-off those yearning for a book on this topic. But don't buy this one. It's outdated and poorly organized resulting in a scattered display of interesting examples but not an authentic testimony on Web success. AND DON'T SELL ME A BOOK IN OCT. 1998 (ON A RAPIDLY EVOLVING TOPIC) AND HAVE IT'S COPYRIGHT DATE SHOW 1999!!! ... a phony way to make the book appear current thru next year. Stay away from this one.
Rating: 
Summary: A wonderful blueprint for success
Review: Strikingitrich.com is an excellent source of "what worked" on the Internet. The idea of tracking companies that prospered and noting exactly what led to their success surpasses any "how to" book I have read. Combining this book with Joseph B Stevenson's "Building An Internet Based Mail-Order Business" (ISBN 0-9666403-0-6)could undoubtedly help anyone get the "head start" they are looking for.
Rating:
Summary: Required Reading for Web Entrepreneurs
Review: This book exceeded my expectations. While the primary title is distracting and somewhat misleading, the subtitle gets it right. What struck me about many of the profiles were the incredibly useful details disclosed by some of the vendors. Sure, a few vendors are basically boasting and (I suspect) exaggerating their returns, and some are conspicuous in failing to share information that some others disclosed (such as net advertising revenues). I actually think this book should be on the "required reading" list for anyone starting a web-based business, simply because it highlights some of the key issues and reasons why some of these businesses are successful (and by implication, this should give some clever people good insight or warning as to why some other business ideas are lacking). My only hesitation about the book is that since it only profiles successful businesses, including some that are in very narrow niches, it may lead some new web-based business owners to be overly optimistic about their new projects. For example, the first "niche" site profiled in the book reports earning $330 CPM for its advertising (and the book explains why this is). A little "reading between the lines" does help (start by simply noticing what information is included in some profiles but not others, and imagine why one vendor didn't share their information). Also note that some of the "successes" seemed (to me, at least) to be more likely than not to be short-lived. The book is also a "good read" -- ideal for an airplane trip or relaxed weekend reading; each of the 23 profiles can be read completely independent of the others (in any order, so you can start by reading about the web sites that are most similar to your business, and then move on to gain insight from other businesses that seem completely different). I don't recommend the book as bedtime reading, because even if you want to just read one chapter, you'll probably be unable to resist reading another profile, and another -- plus your brain will begin grinding with new ideas as you read, making it harder to get to sleep.
Rating:
Summary: Life and Death on the Internet
Review: This book and "Life and Death on the Internet' by Keith A Schroeder are must read for anyone interested in the Internet. Find what you want, protect your privacy, and profit. These two books together get the job done. By this book and "Life and Death on the Internet". You will be glad you did. The material is powerful.
Rating:
Summary: This is THE BEST No-BS Book on Web Marketing Every Written!
Review: I've been on the web for three years now, developing my own sites and sites for clients. This book is -- without doubt-- the most authoritative treatise of real-world examples of how ordinary people can use the Internet to make money. Many of the ideas presented here--by the people who have made it work--are tactics I've experienced firsthand and can vouch for. And many are ideas I'd have never thought of on my own. Within 15 minutesof cracking it open I already had enough new ideas that I know I can put to work to increase my own sites' traffic and turn it into more revenue.I liked this book so much, I bought copies for all of my top clients. After all, traffic is nice, but turning that traffic into money is what it's all about.
Rating: 
Summary: An interesting look at small and effective successes
Review: This book is a product of the Internet boom / bubble and not all of these seb businesses have survived. However, a surprising number have. Some were sold while others evolved one way or the other. It is quite an interesting to read about how these businesses viewed their markets at the height of the boom and then look at how things are today. I think the book has a couple of good points to make. These sites were not funded by huge amounts of venture capital. They are all small sites that have done well for people who had a specific expertise, who thought small in a tightly focused way, and who used the web to broaden their reach to a proven client base. There are thousands of successful sites just like these and this type of thing can be done thousands of more times by intelligent business people. My advice, however, is that unless you really KNOW what your plan and goals are, don't spend your hard earned cash until you are certain you have minimized your uncertainties. Of course, to be an entrepreneur is to have more risk than regular folks are willing to take on. But spend more time getting ready and learning your business rather than recklessly diving in head first to see how deep the pond is. If you don't you could end up spending a lot of money on a website that will be nothing but a drain on your precious cash and time.
Rating:
Summary: Even now, most of these dot coms still exist
Review: If this book was written in 1995, I could excuse its lack of understanding of the Internet. The book takes a look at 23 pure play Internet based companies. Some of the cases were compiled 4 or 5 years ago when the Internet was still in its infancy and many big retail companies did not yet have an Internet presense. The author naively assumes that because a company such as tape.com set up a web-site and sells TDK cassettes at wholesale prices that the company will be wildly successful. The book fails to recognize that these fly-by-night "dot-coms" were taking advantage of a temporary window of opportunity which has since passed. The author's message is actually "you can do it too - just throw up a web page and start selling" rather than "look at what some people were doing in the early days on the Internet". The only value this book has is from a historical perspective but in general, we've all heard these stories before and the message is all wrong. (Ironically, a lot of these "companies" have gone belly-up recently.)
Rating:
Summary: #1 of the Best Books I found for Starting an Online Business
Review: This was one of the first books I read on starting an onlinebusiness. Read it with a highlighter in hand, and re-read the manytips offered. I have contacted several of these companies forexpansions on their tips and I always hear back with helpfulinformation. This is how we help each other,by sharing. Whyre-invent the wheel. I refer back Easton's site often for updates onthe sites and for more tips. Can't wait for the updated version.This was the single most inspiring book for me to start my own .com!
| 
