Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing!
Review: I read "Geeks" and then followed it up with "October Sky" (or "Rocket Boys) by Homer Hickam--the story of "geeks" in West Virginia set in the late 1950's. It is by far the better story. Read it for yourself. I found no heart in "Geeks," no real character development. No "Why!" Katz seems more interested in himself. Perhaps a son he didn't have. He has nothing to say about his daughter who is undergoing similar traumas with college and career plans. The story is about Katz, more than Jesse and Eric. I'm sorry, I wish I knew Jesse and Eric better. I don't!
Rating: 
Summary: This is a really good book
Review: This book entitled Geeks by Jon Katz was the most truthful thing I've ever read. It relates to me and to others around me. It makes me feel like I'm reading a book about myself. It's about two teenage hackers who spend their entire lives on computers. They live, and breathe computers. This is a very good book and general and I think Katz does a fairly good job of mixing fact and fiction. The only dislike I have about the book is the way Katz makes himself the narrator and Jesse and Eric the characters in the story. Even though I can relate to their lives, I would rather be put in their shoes than hearing someone talk about them.
The book makes a very good point of how without geeks, there would be no one to run our world. Katz basically tries to show that geeks are much needed in today's society. I also liked how the boys had no money and no support, but they had a love for computers and that's all that matters. To me, that is influencing and it basically says that you should strive for what you love. However it also sends a message saying, "Hey. I don't care about school, I just want to play on my computer." Unfortunately, I am like them; however I have enough positive motivation not to let my love for computers overcome me.
There is no one better to write this book than of course Jon Katz. He has lived the life before and he used his experience as well as the experiences of Jesse and Eric to fully capture the life of a geek. My favorite part of the book was when they actually met Katz in Idaho. He gave them good advice and gave them some hope. This book is good for anyone, geek or non-geek. Katz makes this book a joy for any reader and I give this book a ten.
Rating:
Summary: Review by a Geekchick
Review: I can't believe how this book spoke to me as a geekchick and as a former high school and current graduate school student. I identified with Jesse and Eric and with Katz's observations on Geek life: the culture, the fierce individuality, the belief that geeks have a right to BE, to exist... all of this and more. I recommend this book to all people involved in K-12 education, from teachers and librarians to school board members. Having insight into the abuse from teachers, fellow students, and the system in general that geeks undergo in schools is necessary to make education more equitable for all. The book was a compelling case study that I'll recommend for students in qualitative research classes I plan to teach.
Rating:
Summary: wonderful,touching and real
Review: this is a great read for young or old, geek or freak. Flackmagazine said it best, everyone can benifet from the insight. reaching forward for the young and backward for us on the other side of 40. well written. (bravo!!)
Rating:
Summary: Geeks among us
Review: Look around while you are going about your business tomorrow. You will see Jesse and Eric in many places. You may remember them from school. You didn't make time or room for them in high school, and you probably ignore them now. But they are there; your own life could be so enriched if you made time for them, then or now. This book makes it perfectly clear: you can involve them in your life and the life that surrounds them, any time. Just make time for them.
Rating: 
Summary: Geeks should Rule!
Review: Jon Katz' book Geeks makes some important points about the overlooked kids and the importance of respecting the current pop culture's influences on them. As Jesse and Eric discover their power and leave Idaho behind. Katz takes the reader along on a journey of discovery for these two young men. From their high school "geek club" to the University of Chicago, the experiences of Jesse and his willingness to share it all candidly and frankly with Jon Katz is a great read. The author spends time talking about the disenfranchisement of the "geeks" and how school officials began labeling these students and viewing them as a threat to the school environment. (He was writing this when the Columbine shooting took place.) He makes a strong point that the kid who doesn't fit into the school mold still has an active place in society. My favorite lines: "Adolescence is a surreal world: Kids who don helmets and practice banging into one another for hours each week are deemed healthy and wholesome, even heroic. Geeks are branded strange and antisocial for building and participating in one of the world's truly revolutionary new cultures--the Internet and the World Wide Web." (p. 167) A must read for all educators. Even if they only read the last fifty pages!
Rating:
Summary: Great Book!
Review: This is an awesome book. Great story line. I was introduced to this book for a college class. Also, I love that the writer included his screen name and email addresses. Readers are able to write him, and he will reply and tell you how the boys are doing. THIS IS A TRUE STORY!
Rating:
Summary: Geeks unite!
Review: Jon Katz explores a subculture of society alien to mainstream America in Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet out of Idaho. While most people have heard the term "geek" and have a vague idea of its meaning and to the type of person it refers (Bill Gates?), they have no idea of the depths of geekdom as a culture and way of life for its members. Through his work as an Internet techie columnist, Katz discovers Jesse and Eric, the "lost boys," and delves into their lives as misunderstood, persecuted and rebellious outsiders. High school's emphasis on popularity through sports, looks and personality is torture for these intelligent, computer-oriented kids. Teens labeled "different" in the past had little outlet for their anguish, but the online world today provides a lifeline to like-minded people, and the computer skills learned by geeks give them a way out, that is, if they can overcome the dead-end mindset learned during childhood. An understanding teacher and the author himself provide Jesse and Eric with just enough guidance to give them a chance. They do escape their isolated town in Idaho to a new life in Chicago, but will it be different? Can they move beyond their well-paying, but ultimately stultifying jobs in the corporate world to earn an education that will truly free them to lead fulfilling lives? Katz's compelling book keeps the reader wondering what will happen, not only to Jesse and Eric, but to that whole generation of young people known as geeks. A great story for disaffected teens, this book is a must-read for educators concerned about the well being of fringe groups in schools today.
Rating:
Summary: book review on "Geeks" by Jon Katz
Review: I really injoyed the book a lot and for the first time I didn't want to let go of the book. When I was reading the book, I felt like I was actually puting myself in their shoes and wondering what i would do in their situations. How they had to go through so much adversity in their lifes with school or family, but with the help of Joh Katz, their life would soon change forever. With Joh's dedication and hard work of showing them the computer skills they had, they gradually thought of how they wanted to put them in use and acted on what there actions told them. Through his mentoring and helping them every step of the way he could, they learned more about the work environment and used what they knew as an advantage toward starting a successful career in their lifes. What I like most is how somebody took these kids under there footsteps and was like a big brother to them, which is the reason why I got drawn to this book.
Rating:
Summary: It sounded promising, anyway...
Review: As an avid fan of the Jon Katz columns on Slashdot, a popular news site, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Katz had written a biography that follows the story of two socially challenged youngsters looking to escape from their small town in Idaho. I quickly rushed over to my library and picked up a copy, planning to lock myself in my dorm room for a few days and read it cover-to-cover. Unfortunately, the book was nothing like the Katz columns that I have come to love. Its bloated, wordy prose did little to mask the dry, uninteresting story line and lack of meaningful details. In choosing to write his book as a documentary, Katz failed to personify his subjects; he failed to draw on his considerably writing skills and his fresh insight into political and social issues. Katz, the journalist/commentator on Slashdot, is the most popular Slashdot editor for a reason: he lends new insight into current events and the state of society (and Internet communities) in general. As a mere biographer, though, his talents are wasted, and that is probably what disappointed me most about this book.
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