Rating: 
Summary: Very informative and entertaining
Review: Michael Lewis always stays on top of the latest happenings in the world of business and technology. The Future Just Happened just proves it.
Rating:
Summary: Not a technology book
Review: Excellent. I haven't read his other books, but I found this one well written, easy to read, but with insightful observations and commentary, and not too preachy (though the last two chapters do cross the line on occasion). I liked his approach - just to detail individual stories about individual people, and not try to make sweeping generalizations on the state of the business as a whole. The pieces he has put together allow me to see the 'big picture' for myself and use it as jumping off point for what's next.
Rating: 
Summary: Reruns of 60 minutes isn't what's Next
Review: Very disappointing from someone with such talent. This book is really a long magazine article, and not a good one at that. While it is supposed to be about Internet topics and how the Internet has changed our lives, Lewis has thrown in a segment on TiVo to get it over 200 pages. That and his lead Internet story were both featured on 60 minutes last season. You can save yourself a few buck by using your TiVo to record the summer reruns of 60 minutes. You can hear all the same stuff and actually see the people being talked about. What will they think of NEXT.
Rating: 
Summary: Fun, but a little brief
Review: Michael Lewis sets out to show us the effect of the Internet and the technology boom on business and society at the turn of the millenium. His look at some of the characters he has met in his travels is engaging and his analysis of their behavior worth a quick read. From the kid who pumped and dumped stocks like the best Wall Street trader to the little old lady who answered polls for free, we get to know the people who make up this next stage of society, the adapters and adopters, and those who just haven't figured it out yet. His conclusion, that it is the intelligence of youth that is changing the game and structures of power is the age old cry of revolution, but this time I think he might just be right.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining, but missing something
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed "The New, New Thing", both for the humor and the detail provided about Jim Clark and his ambitions. As a profile of one man, the book was excellent."Next", however, is a profile of a few people that is somehow meant to extrapolate to the population as a whole. Although the stories are interesting and to some extent thought-provoking, they are not given in a larger context. For example, the 14-year-old New Jersey whiz kid is amazing, but how many other 14-year-olds live in New Jersey and do the same things? How about in the nation as a whole? Toward the end of the book, Lewis makes a note that the stories presented are part of a larger group in his research, but he doesn't say how many, or how representative they are. It's hard to tell if this is sensationalism or serious journalism. The line between his opinions and what is fact is often blurred as well. When he comments on the best and brightest minds in the computer industry, then proceeds to skewer them (often hilariously) for their hubris and/or ideals, there is no way of knowing if this is just his opinion, or supported by one or more similarly technical people. In general, I found this book very entertaining, and as entertainment I give it four stars. As a serious piece of work, it's probably a 3 or so. I work in the computer industry, I'm either familar with or intimately involved in much of the technology he discusses, and I think many of his points come across much more as conjecture than any researched fact. If he had provided more cross-references, or even named more of his sources, I would consider this a much more professional work. There's a certain irony to a man who will write an entire book about how the internet is changing the way people live, then fail to include any way of contacting him electronically. That's obviously not his responsibility, but I did notice the omission.
Rating:
Summary: Fast Read
Review: This reads quickly like popular press reports of internet related stories. A young boy says he dispenses legal advice learned from TV programs. The story is a cautionary tale of the dangers of relying on web information. Told in an engaging way.
Rating:
Summary: Into the millenium
Review: This is absolutely a must-read for anyone who is into the millenium days. Smartly written with stories involving the use of world wide web in our daily encounters. I am impressed with the style and choices of words the author used in this book. Best wishes!
Rating:
Summary: The Bubble May Have Burst
Review: But while the financial part of the Internet may have disappointed, the social effects weren't overrated. This book is a great read no matter what situation you're in. You will learn a lot while being entertained at the same time. Who knows, maybe you will even be motivated after reading this book like I was!
Rating:
Summary: people stories instead of financial hype
Review: I like this book over other recent InterNet books, including the Next Next Thing by the same author, because it about the social impact of the InterNet rather than how to make money. The best part are the pieces about the three teenage boys who were enabled to do powerful things on their bedroom computers by the Net: make a million dollars in the stock market, upstart a hoard of lawyers, and intimidate a record company. Two of these pieces appeared as stories in the New York Times Sunday magazines, but there is more detail here. Lewis makes the point that we've only begun to see the possibilites of the Net. The recent financial catastrophe is merely a roadbump on the way to the future.
Rating:
Summary: How the WWW changed the way we live, work, and think.
Review: This book gives us a full account and thought-provoking look at life in an Internet-driven world. If you've ever had feeling that the Internet is radically changing the world, as you know it, it is. Like it or not the author of this book has been busy investigating the reasons on the Internet and how it fills in a type of a social hole long ignored. If you are studying people's behaviors it is even better; the book shows how the Internet is the ideal model for sociologists who believe that we are merely the masks we wear in response to the social situations in which we find ourselves. The book goes deeply into examining social phenomena and examines the redistribution of prestige, authority and social order. Looks into the erosive effect on the money culture; the decreased value we place on formal training and the increased need for knowledge exchange. If you want to take a good look how the Internet boom has encouraged great changes in the way we live, work, and think than buy this book. You will be surprised. I certainly was. FinancialNeeds.com
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