Rating: 
Summary: Great Book
Review: This book follows Jim Clark, the founder of Silicon Graphics, Netscape, and Healtheon. The book follows his paranoid awareness that everything new is a threat to the old. Thus, Clark pushes for every idea that for some magical reason leads the wave of the future. But his brilliance was capped and controlled by corporate capitalist who eventually engulfed his ideas and stopped him from starting "New New Thing(s)." His knack to start new things is relatively unimaginable at first, but would catch on like wildfire when he and his engineers got to work on it. He was not only good at creating hype, but he was almost like the hype master. "Even if people weren't quite ready for the technology, the technology would be forced upon them."(p. 81)Clark passionately believed that it should be the techno geeks that run the show. It made no sense to Clark that although he and his team were making money, it wasn't enough. He felt that it was the geeks that made the innovations and change, almost as if the creators should deserve all the credit and not the venture capitalists. "He disliked...the phalanx of financial intermediaries who sat between the creators of wealth and their just desserts" (p. 253). Clark goes after the world, which is symbolically represented by his yacht Hyperion, for Hyperion was an extension of being the biggest yacht at the time and his suggestion that no other would be larger. Clark achieved that goal, and changed the design of the pyramid of capitalism; "old-fashioned capitalist just came along for the ride" (172). Clark's revolution of the Internet changed the formula of success because "it (the Internet) persuaded people to invest in it (companies) first, and hoped the profits would follow"(p. 173). These new ways of thinking/investing changed a lot of things in the investment world and put a lot of those techno geeks on top of it. This book wonderfully illustrates Jim Clark's rise to the top and his persistence to stay there. The book has that I can't put down effect and keeps the reader curious of Clark's unorthodox practices of anarchy, technology, business, and quest for more money. Clark pushes technology to the limit. And "every Serious American Executive now agreed he had no choice but to adapt" (p.251). This book is a great book and is inspirational in a way that only a madman, funny anecdotes, and a love of money can explain.
Rating: 
Summary: visionary
Review: It's amazing that my first e-biz purchase is a book about the man who created the thing. Jim Clark started this thing and Amazon is one of the fruits of his genuis.
Rating:
Summary: An Insightful Read About A Silicon Valley Visionary
Review: Michael Lewis has written a humorous and insightful book about Jim Clark, the founder of Silicon Graphics, Netscape,Healtheon and myCFO. The story is educational in that it provides an insight into the process of conceptionalizing a technology idea, packaging and selling the idea to the venture capitalists,individual investors and those that have to bring the idea to a reality,convince the Wall Street investment bankers of the marketability of such a scheme to the investing public and the final IPO which makes everyone along the food chain rich. This educational story will certainly make you think twice before investing in future technology IPOs. For some, valuation is not a consideration. Lewis has a great style, which is not only informative, but also humorous. I especially liked the way he chides the American legal system (page 195). Anyone who has experienced serving jury duty will appreciate the arrogant and pompous process described by Lewis as the Department of Justice begins the trial against Microsoft. This is a must read for anyone who has ever invested in a high flying technology stock or wondered about life in the Silicon Valley.
Rating:
Summary: This book gets you charged!
Review: What can I say; I got it as a gift and read it from front to back in less than a week. Very interesting story. If you hadn't figured out that there is a new way of doing business, you will after reading this.
Rating:
Summary: The world is even crazier than you think
Review: Never, ever, would I have expected to care so much about the travails of capitalists. One roots for the protagonist here not because you want him to be happy, but because if he should quit doing his stuff the world would be so much less interesting. And this book proves that the world RIGHT NOW is much more interesting than I, at least, ever realized. On just about every page there is reason to say "Oh Lord, no way." I said it at least once out loud on a plane and my seat mate agreed that this was such a book. She had finished it in one sitting.
Rating: 
Summary: good
Review: This book is good, but not great. If I hadn't so loved LIAR'S POKER, I might give this a higher rating. But NEW NEW THING didn't have nearly the energy of LIAR'S POKER, that had Lewis relating HIS OWN experiences. NEW NEW is basically a biography, and not an especially interesting one at that, a lot of the time. Nonetheless, there are some great PARTS in the book, and anyone reading this review obviously has some interest in the internet, and so should find the book of special interest.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: First of all, let me just say that I am not a regular reader. I am a techie that hates reading, but I did really enjoy this book, it inspires people like me and others to be better than who they are, but there is way too much information about How Clark built this huge BOAT. Sometimes it is too boring to keep on hearing about the BOAT, I don't know what the relevance is, but overall, it is a great book, even kept a non reader like me interested.
Rating:
Summary: The new new thing is a great great read.
Review: Over 10 years ago I read Liars Poker, also by the author Michael Lewis, and was captivated by the investment world. As Lewis illustrates, the power has shifted from Wall Street to Silicon Valley in the 90s and Michael provides access to one of the Valley's founding fathers, Jim Clark. Lewis walks us through the stories behind the three companies Clark helps create, and provides insight into Clark's current project, myCFO.com. One ironic aspect of the book is the fact that one of Clark's companies rushed it's public offering so Clark could pay for his $70 million sail boat. I found this book to be one of the special reads that I couldn't put down.
Rating:
Summary: Fun, Educational and Inspiring
Review: This book is just a fun read. It is not an academic book, and Lewis does love to dwell on the excesses or silly points, but Lewis captures better than any other author the culture and people of Silicon Valley, who have legally created a stupendous amount of wealth in less than a decade. There were two parts of the book I particularly loved: First, the part on the engineers from India was compelling. These kids grow up on the brink of starvation and work their tails off to make it to Silicon Valley to seek their dreams. The book keenly demonstrates how Jim Clark is able to harness these kind of people and let their talents operate in the most productive way, and also make them rich beyond their wildest dreams. Second, the best part of the book was the second to last chapter, about how Jim Clark came from absolute poverty in Texas. Clark had to defend his mother from his drunken father, and his mother had only $5 a month after the bills were paid. The book keenly demonstrates how Clark's sense of anarchy and adventure led him to rise far above the hand he was dealt in life. The story of how Clark has made 3 different billion dollar companies is amazing, and even more amazing is that he is using his talents to create a fourth company instead of only sailing his crazy boat. You'll learn a lot when you read this book, it will inspire you, and you'll enjoy it. Read it soon, before the next new new thing makes it irrelevant.
Rating:
Summary: Amazingly, Better than Liar's Poker
Review: Anyone with a gripe about this book should be forced to read The Celestine Prophecy or some similar piece of tripe repeatedly until the year 2020. This is one delicious scene after another. It obviously brings to mind Lewis' book on Wall Street as well as Tom Wolfe's Acid Test, but it may actually be better than either one of those. What I find remarkable is how fluid and graceful the prose style is. Lewis even manages to avoid the common journalistic sin of edging too close to the center of the frame. He's a light presence. Somehow he also seems to avoid getting seasick or airsick. All I can say is: Wow.
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