Rating: 
Summary: A good idea, poorly executed
Review: Like most Silicon Valley ideas, it has a good concept, poorly executed. Horrible writing, poor story-telling make this one of thr worst books I've read in years.
Rating: 
Summary: how to think about new technology
Review: I read a couple of books each week. The New New Thing : A Silicon Valley Story by Michael Lewis is one of the best books I've read in a long time. Well written, fun to read, and educational. It gave me some insight into the mind and motivation of Jim Clark, the founder of Silicon Graphics, Netscape, and Healtheon. Its more of a "how to think about new technology" rather than a "how to invest book."
Rating: 
Summary: Essentially a biography of Jim Clark
Review: Michael Lewis knows a good story when he sees one, and it must have become clear to him early on in the course of his research for this book that Jim Clark is a lot more interesting than the companies he's founded. As a result, this book spends a great deal of time looking at Clark outside the office, most often on his sailboat--fascinating information, but not what many readers will be looking for. The book is definitely worth reading, but those only out for a portrait of Silicon Valley might want to supplement it with "High Stakes, No Prisoners" or some such title.
Rating:
Summary: Captivating
Review: I read this book while on the beach for a week. I found that I could not put it down. Jim Clark is an amazing individual that has created several multi-billion dollar companies in order to satisfy his desire to re-invent things and create the "new thing". I recomend this to people who have caught the entreprenurial bug and want to see how successful they can be.
Rating:
Summary: Michael Lewis is a racist
Review: I don't take your words kindly when you describe people of other nationalities and colors. I'll make it a point to discourage anyone buying this book or any other wook that you've written or will write.
Rating:
Summary: Das Boot? Nein!
Review: An incredibly interesting read about a truly maniacal guy. Genius? not so sure; does the man have ANY feel for relating to humans?. Loved it when it was dealing about Clark's unorthodox, narcissistic approach to business, dealing with VCs, dealing with life. Had absolutely no use and/or interest in the boat stuff, and couldn't get through that fast enough. Why did Lewis need to make that garbage such a centerpiece? That was 11th on a list of 10 reasons why I picked it up in the first place. Thankfully, the tales about SGI, Netscape, and Healtheon were sufficiently interesting to make this a worthwhile reading experience.
Rating:
Summary: Taken for a ride..on a computerized boat
Review: Michael Lewis opens the story on the sophisticated sailboat that many of us would not dare to travel in despite the offer of lucrative stock options in Jim Clark's latest venture. It so happens that on completion of the trans-atlantic voyage the people on board discover that they had become richer several folds. Humor apart, this is one of the well-narrated stories about the mind and vision of one of foremost Silicon Valley architects. We have scores of success stories of business leaders who have built multi-billion dollar businesses ground up in a short duration. But in this case we have a person who quickly moves from one success to another and in each case an unrelated one. The common thread is Computing and Internet. The men from the India-Pawan, Kittu and Shankar receive due credit and people in this part of the world would be eager to have a glimpse at "Hyperion" if she makes a voyage across the Indian Ocean ! Happy sailing !
Rating:
Summary: someone please kick Jim Clark in the head
Review: I was a big fan of Lewis's Liar's Poker and was hoping for a similar treatment of the dot-com era ridiculousness. However, this is really a biography of Jim Clark -- basically one of those narcissistic, whiny executives who insists that every second of his time is 100x more valuable than your whole life. The problem is, Lewis basically agrees, fawning all over him, hanging on his every move just in case some tiny morsel of wisdom falls from the corner of Clark's mouth. It's also already a little myopic, in that "visionaries" with no real business model and a disdain for human interaction aren't at the top of the food chain these days (good thing Clark already made his $$). Interesting, however, for a glimpse into how foolish VCs can be. I couldn't get past the first half of the book, though, thoroughly uninterested in the fate of Clark's big big boat.
Rating:
Summary: The "New" New New Thing
Review: After speaking with Michael Lewis after a talk he gave in front of the Merrill Lynch Asset Management conference in San Francisco, I can truly understand and cherish this book much more. Mr. Lewis shows, through this book, exactly what the market is unable to understand. What the market needs to see is that the technology craze, the web craze, and most recently, the wireless craze is just humanity's desire to find the next "New New Thing". His piecing together of this concept by the use of a man who, in many ways, created the latest run of "New New Things", in helping to create Microsoft, is a very interesting concept. Although this book is not as good of a read as "Liar's Poker", it is definetly worth buying if only for Michael Lewis's delightfully sarcastic humor. I definetly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for the NEXT "New New Thing"...oh yes, also...I suggest buying Healtheon and MyCEO.com...if only because the main character has never been wrong!
Rating: 
Summary: This book is over-hyped
Review: I was very disappointed in this book. It is completely lacking insight into the world of high tech. My impression is that Michael Lewis had enjoyed hanging out with a very rich man and needed to write up something, anything, to sort of justify the time he had wasted and so he just strung some pointless, not very interesting anecdotes together. I feel that I have been had. It really is a rather rubbishy book.
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