Rating: 
Summary: Pretty good, but not up to his previous work
Review: This book is interesting, and kept me turning pages, but somehow it just doesn't capture the world he covers as well as, say, his books on Wall Street or politics. I think I know why. Lewis is, himself, a Wall Street/political kind of guy. He's not a geek. So it's much harder for him to understand Geek World. Works like Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon do a better job of that -- but in a way only geeks, or at least quasi geeks, can understand. I'd bet that the people giving this book strong reviews are non-geeks, and the people giving it lukewarm reviews (like this one) are geeks (like me). Lewis probably does a good job translating the world to non-geeks, but something is inevitably lost in the translation. That's what the inhabitants of Geek World are noticing -- just as a native speaker of French might disapprove of an English translation of Rabelais. The only other complaint is that in his coverage of the Microsoft trial, the lawyers -- especially for the government -- are made to look stupid and ineffectual. Lewis couldn't know, of course, how it would turn out, but the joke's on him. No matter how many billions you have, you trifle with lawyers at your peril. At the end of the day, often *they* have the billions. Just ask the tobacco companies!
Rating:
Summary: Fun for a non-insider
Review: This book is great for those of us that are thousands of miles away from California and are wondering how the heck they make all that money. Don't buy it for educational value, buy it for the entertainment value! It certainly helps you realize that money isn't everything. The title should be "It's never going to be enough, Why billion dollars cannot make Jim Clark happy".
Rating: 
Summary: Only in America can such a character become rich
Review: Lewis's The New New Thing is a fine work that describes the frentic deal-making and magnificent visions that are the pulse of Silicon Valley through the experiences of one man, Jim Clark. I disagree with reviewers that say that Lewis is not critical of Clark. One need only read his descriptions of Clark's emails to VC firms threatening to push them out of his next deal or to read how Clark's temper rages unchecked at any small annoyance. Question: Does Clark purposely allow his miniature helicopter to scrape the paint off the cars of the workers that come to his home to 'move his pool' for the nth time or is it an 'accident'? A better understanding of Clark's childhood might have helped to explain his emotional arrested development.
Rating:
Summary: Great writer loses his way
Review: I love Michael Lewis's writing. I read Liar's Poker, followed all of his pieces in The New Republic and loved the corresponding collection, Trail Fever, and I watch for his periodic pieces in the New York Times Magazine and elsewhere, but something went awry with The New New Thing. It's a great topic -- Jim Clark is in many ways emblematic of Silly Valley -- but it feels curiously dated already. Not only that, it feels thin and somewhat under-reported. Take away all the passages about Clark's boat, and you would have something that in word-count wouldn't be out of place as a Harper's Magazine insert. To be fair, most pages contain at least one vintage Lewis-ism. He can turn an apt phrase better than almost anyone I read, creating fresh metaphors faster and funnier than what you'll ever find elsewhere. But an awful lot of even that seemed ... well, sweaty. He drags out paragraphs in places, as if he is hoping something comes to him, and something doesn't always come. Lewis has demonstrated he can write well about business -- in Liar's Poker, and in the Money Culture, as well as in his more recent musings from the Microsoft trial for Slate -- but something went wrong in this book. It feels safe and perfunctory. Too bad.
Rating: 
Summary: Puff piece
Review: I was very disappointed. I was looking forward to something a little bit more hard-hitting than this. I agree with the readers that thought that Lewis seemed to want to please Clark with this book. Makes me wonder whether his access to Clark was only conditional. Oh well... we'll always have Liar's Poker.
Rating:
Summary: Another "good but not great" review
Review: I also found this book good, but not as great a ride as "Liar's Poker". While there are some great split-your-gut laughing moments, there weren't nearly as many as in LP. I also didn't feel like I learned as much, although perhaps that's because I work in the Industry already. Lewis is a great writer and I tend to devour whatever he produces, but the book doesn't live up to his abilities and thus feels a bit rushed and incomplete (perhaps for the christmas book-buying season?). For example, Lewis' treatises on the Microsoft trial in Slate were far more entertaining than the chapter in the book, which I found disappointing. Unlike other reviewers, I didn't think too much time was spent "on the yacht." In fact, I loved the bit about the warning voice! Here too, though, the book seemed unfinished: what was the problem with the boat? We're never told. So, if you're a real Lewis junkie, buy it now, but if you wait for the paperback you're probably making the wiser move.
Rating: 
Summary: This book is a fantastic read.
Review: There's no apparent rhyme or reason to the idiosyncratic behavior of Jim Clark, however, whether we understand him or not, he has been instrumental in the shaping of Silicon Valley. Personally, I think there are too many "safe" people in the world and Mr. Clark sounds hilariously eccentric... a real risk taker. I think Michael Lewis has done an outstanding job in portraying this man and his many missions in life. Like most people in the world, Jim Clark never seems satisfied with life but unlike most people, he actually does something about it... over and over again. This is a great read and I recommend it highly.
Rating:
Summary: Great read, the best yet on the Valley phenoms
Review: much much better than Po Bronson's much hyped 'the nudist on the late shift'. having spent 3 yrs in the valley now (in the trenches of a start-up), its a fascinating and well written look at some of the dynamics and the mechanics... a few factual errors which are annoying but do not detract from the story-telling abilities of the writer.
Rating:
Summary: Not quite "Liar's Poker of Silicon Valley" but a good read.
Review: Having read all of Lewis' work, I do not rate this one as high as the others. Liar's Poker and Trail Fever both have far more amuzing anecdotes. Nevertheless, Lewis possesses a descriptive writing style, and he reminds me of Tom Wolfe in his ability to offer subtle insight. Jim Clark's massive sailboat serves as a metaphor for many things, including the man's character. The final 100 pages were more interesting than the first 170. I expected an updated Liar's Poker, but this book is slightly different, although the message is similar. It fits nicely into Lewis' collection, but his first is still his best. Buy it -- it's a fast and interesting read, but read Liar's Poker first -- it is far funnier.
Rating: 
Summary: A Huge Disappointment
Review: Salomon Brothers was interesting. Jim Clark is boring. Liar's poker was well-written and entertaining. This book muddles through. Do not buy this book. A longer review is not worth my time.
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