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Summary: History, profile, criticism of the Valley of Dollars
Review: A very good account of Silicon Valley...its history to the "celebrity profiles" including Oracle's zany Larry Ellison to Bob Metcalfe who moved his family from the Valley to "quiet" Maine. The book also focuses on Yahoo! creators and the venture capitalists of Kleiner Perkins (like John Doerr). The last chapter ends with a chilling feeling formed by these words: "The Valley once was a new machine. It changed the world. It may do so again. But the machine has no soul anymore."
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Summary: Another fun romp through the Valley
Review: A great look at the players and personalities in the Valley. I was familiar with most of this, but I enjoyed the extra insights.
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Summary: Read the last chapter
Review: Yes, Kaplan does repeat all those stories everyone has heard about Silicon Valley, but all through the book he shows the changing face of the Valley from those "good old days." The last chapter is a brilliant summation which echos the sentiments of many technologists who have experienced the Valley's life style. Read Robert X. Cringley's "Accidental Empires" before this book, and then swap over for the last chapter.
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Summary: The silicon boys
Review: This is a great book that really explains the merger between strategy and technology development which occurred in Silicon Valley. One gains a terrific appreciation of the origins of much of the key technologies that are now shaping Silicon Valley. My only critique of this novel is that in parts of the book, the author gets swept away with the wealth and toys that these entrepreneurs have amassed. Although this is amusing reading, I do not think it matches the quality of the rest of the book.
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Summary: History and Biography of the Valley
Review: What a fun book this was to read. David Kaplan's writing is suberb; witty, sometimes sentimental, and observant. "The Silicon Boys" chronicles the life of Silicon Valley, and the people who are building and built it up. By making the book part history of companies, and part biography of people, the reader becomes very well acquainted with the eccentricities, monumental successess and failures of this well-known region of the world. Kaplan describes the Valley, from the original Gold Rush days of the 49ers to the modern Gold Diggers of the Internet Revolution, and the duality that springs forth from here. The dualities of companies are examined much as the duality of the history of the region, such as the extroverted Steve Jobs of Apple, and his co-founder, the introverted Steve Wozniak. There's the obnoxious Larry Ellison of Oracle, and the down-to-earth Bob Metcalfe of 3Com. Of course, Netscape and Microsoft (Internet Explorer) get some print-time too. Sure, any writer can detail the life of Silicon Valley, but Kaplan himself makes the difference between this book and any other on the subject. It's not dry and completely objective; there's contempt for Ellison of Oracle, and there's a great little story about how the author could've been worth hundreds of millions of dollars today if he just accepted an offer to work for a certain Web-site back in 1995. Definitely a fun, interesting and worthwhile book to read on the subject and history of Silicon Valley.
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Summary: Fascinating read
Review: If you've read most of the other books about Silicon Valley then you will find much repeated material in this book, however there were many stories and anecdotes that I had not read elsewhere. Thoroughly recommended if you're interested in Silicon Valley companies but haven't read too much. If you have read the likes of Accidental Empires then you might want to give this one a miss as there's much repeated material.
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Summary: Interesting and easy to read
Review: I bought a copy of this book in spanish, and I read it in only 2 days. It's fun, easy to read and interesting, that's why I read it so fast.... well, I have to tell you that I was at an airport waiting for a flight for several hours, but after I began to read it, I couldn't stop. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.
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Summary: Entertaining collection of short stories on Silicon Valley
Review: This was a worthwhile, fun read. With many short stories about different subjects, it provides great stopping points if you have to read it in many settings. Many of the stories are rehashed and if you read Forbes and Fortune you will be familiar with much of the material. Irrespective, it is still humorous, educational and entertaining, particularly if you are not well versed on the subjects. Having read Ellison's book, a little of Larry goes a long way. The Yahoo story was particularly interesting as I had not read much on them. The "old" history of the valley was also interesting to frame where we are now and this book gave a good review of the incestous growth from those companies. I think you will enjoy this book.
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Summary: Is it just luck?
Review: This is bit hyped-up, but still a good read. If you ignore the pesonalities it is interesting to see how they do business in the valley. The history each player, if it is all true, clears up some of the misconceptions - but you really have to be ruthless to win - don't ya Bill?
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Summary: Great and gossipy anthropology
Review: Just finished reading the paperback edition of The Silicon Boys while loitering in LAX. Great book, had me totally in its power. The introduction about class and capital in Woodside, California, will be gale-inducing reading long after Red Herring, Industry Standard, and the rest are gone and forgotten. My sole complaints have to do with something that was probably unavoidable: rehashing old history. There is something perfunctory about the book's discussion of the early days of the industry, and it never really gets a full head of steam until Intel pops up, which it promptly loses in the Apple discussion, and then regains it while talking about Kleiner Perkins & its VC ilk. Great book that pulls you in with dish, but then has important things to say about how point-masses of capital are distorting life in ways that are surreal, funny, harrowing, and, ultimately, dangerous.
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