Rating: 
Summary: An interesting story about one unique engineer
Review: This is an interesting story about Jim Clark-the man(and only man)that started three companies worth a billion dollars or more. Jim Clark was a high school misfit and onetime seaman recruit doing scut work when the Navy discovered he was a math genius. Clark goes on to have his revenge by getting a Ph.D. and becoming the Silicon Valley mogul who engineers are beating down the doors to work for. He also has his revenge on the venture capitalists and dramatically changes the economics in favor of the engineers and the programmers. Lewis writes an interesting book about how Clark starts up Healtheon and begins groping to the new new idea-My CFO. Clark really beats to a different drummer or the Silicon Valley equivalent-clicks to a different mouse. What Clark really seems to want to do is to spend sixteen hours a day writing code for his computerized giant sail boat. Lewis also has an intersting discussion about how the competitive Indian education system selects and trains some of the best programmers in the world. Overall an interesting well written book. Although if you are only going to read one book about Silicon Valley, I would recommend Po Bronson's Nudist on the Late Shift.
Rating: 
Summary: Not far enough
Review: Although entertaining, I felt Lewis was superficial in his story. At the end, Clark is enigmatic -- still and at the very least, pitifiul. The book also suffered from inadequate editing. How many times did we need to told and retold that Clark was different? I think after the first three times, the average dolt reader (i.e., me) might well get it. After the twentieth time, I was annoyed. Also various factual errors that I knew about made me question how many more there were. For example, Microsoft is NOT the largest market cap company on the NYSE; it doesn't trade on the NYSE; it trades on NASDAQ. Wardman, Microsoft's chief lawyer did NOT go to Harvard Law; he went to UVA Law. I wondered what other errors there were that I missed.
Rating: 
Summary: A wonderful look at a great man
Review: Jim Clark, whatever you may think of him, doesn't do things in a small way and Michael Lewis, who writes so wonderfully well, captures the essence of Clark and the wackiness of Silicon Valley. Wonderful read.
Rating: 
Summary: OK, but offers a thin perspective
Review: For the record, I just want to make it clear that this is a story of Jim Clark's life more than anything else. Considering that Lewis hung out with him for a considerable time to get the story down, I am not surprised. What it does not do, is give you a good idea of what a startup experience is like - Jim Clark is clearly an excepetion, not the rule.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable yet short...
Review: A very entertaining true story about a very interesting person.By reading this book you will be able to understand the great excitement behind being creative and acting on your visions.
Rating:
Summary: An adventure, a page turner, and a morality tale
Review: I couldn't put this book down. When the dust settles and historians chronical it, Jim Clark will be to the Internet what Marconi is to radio: genius, entrepreneur, the one who "got it". As well as that, he was the first to see that scarcity and game theory would turn the tables away from "vulture capitalist" in favor of engineering talent. Karma.
Rating:
Summary: an exciting life made boring
Review: Jim Clark is charismatic ! Jim Clark is a genius ! Jim Clark is a megalomaniac ! This should make for a fascinating read, but the author is a smart-alec who in trying to be humorous trivializes most every incident in the story. Why so much text ( 2 chapters plus other minor parts ) should be spent describing how Clark vaporizes millions on his toy- the yacht with the world's tallest mast - and the endless details of its misbegotten trans Atlantic trip is beyond me. So boring I had to force myself to finish it. A much more interesting and palatable overview of Clark, in the perspective of all the other geniuses in the Valley is presented in The Silicon Boys.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating book
Review: Okay, I'll keep this short. For those with at least some interest in new technology, this is a must read. This book, or rather the insight it gives into Jim Clark's mind, will leave a lasting impression on the reader. This really can change the way you view the world, without trying to sound corny. If there is a lesson we can learn from this great book it is this: You can either accept to be a part of what others have created, and equally accept the limitations that come with this. Or, if you have an inquisitive mind and some creativity, you can set out to be the person that creates new things, and thus ceases to have any limitations imposed on it. Free your mind and read this book :-)
Rating:
Summary: Corporate Culture becomes Human
Review: Michael Lewis's The New New Thing covers the human element of the corporate world! The text is simple, effective and to the point. I can almost "see" Mr. Lewis telling the story of Jim Clark. This book can be retold which is the secret of good writing. Vertical and horizontal markets are explained in one sentence. The miracle of Jim Clark not conforming to the corporate world is very well illustrated. The idea that a corporate giant is like any other creative person is wonderful. Mr. Lewis did an excellent job of making an Internet giant to a personal level! Well done.
Rating:
Summary: The IPO was to buy a boat?
Review: Michael Lewis takes us on a real scary ride here. By looking at Jim Clark from another perspective, this book reveals things about the internet world that we didn't get from Clark's Netscape Time. I was familiar with some of the history (from reading other accounts) of the birth of internet time, but Michael Lewis gets deeper than any of those to look at what makes Jim Clark tick. It is not a flattering account, but it is very real in its power to reveal the soul of a high stakes businessman. This book will make you sit up and really think about what is going on in America today. No matter where you are or what you are doing, this stuff is impacting your life in a major way and you will need to understand what is driving it forward.
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