false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171805962m/119751.jpg 119751 6 Perhaps more than anywhere else, Silicon Valley in the latter part of the 20th century has come to represent the essence of the American dream. Its economy has resembled the various rushes and booms of the 1800s. The Valley is a unique place in a unique time, where just about anyone with a good idea, an aptitude for hard work, and a boatload of luck has a chance to make it big--really big. In <I>The Nudist on the Late Shift</I>, Po Bronson intends to capture the spirit of the Valley, leading us through a series of vignettes that takes us from a "near brush with sudden wealth" to a $400 million buyout; from life on the edge with a group of Java programmers to the plight of a futurist writer with the looming deadline for a 9,000-word article. For Bronson, the appeal of the Valley is this: <blockquote>Every generation that came before us had to make a choice in life between pursuing a steady career and pursuing wild adventures. In Silicon Valley, that trade-off has been recircuited. By injecting mind-boggling risk into the once stodgy domain of gray-suited business, young people <I>no longer have to choose</I>. It's a two-for-one deal: the career path has become an adventure into the unknown.</blockquote> Like Tracy Kidder's <I>Soul of a New Machine</I>, what makes Bronson's book work is a talent for narrative. He presents compelling stories about those who make it--for example, Ben Chiu (Killerapp.com, C/NET) and Sabeer Bhatia (Hotmail)--as well as those whom we'll never hear of again: the database salesman working on the "hockey stick" at the close of the quarter and the "kiss-ass entrepreneur" who's taken up COBOL programming to make ends meet. <I>The Nudist on the Late Shift</I> is for anyone who has wondered what life on the modern frontier is like--and for those who are already there, the reflection might be revealing. <I>--Harry C. Edwards</I> 825590 1999 The Nudist on the Late Shift: And Other True Tales of Silicon Valley total:132|5:15|4:46|3:51|2:17|1:3| 132 449 212 25 3 1 false false Wed Jul 11 04:30:03 -0700 2007 Mon Jul 23 06:04:38 -0700 2007 Being an IT student at that time, I was a little discouraged. That is not the kind of life I want to lead. ...more...]]> 1 0 false false Tue Jul 21 16:57:58 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 27 00:57:48 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Apr 28 10:51:24 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 28 10:52:24 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2000 Tue Feb 10 14:42:53 -0800 2009 Tue Feb 10 14:44:33 -0800 2009 1
Overall though, I remember thinking that the book was all title and no point. ]]> 4 0 false false Wed Oct 28 10:17:34 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 28 10:18:58 -0700 2009
]]> 3 0 false false Mon Oct 26 20:09:18 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 26 20:10:40 -0700 2009 2 0 true true Fri Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Feb 17 18:01:21 -0800 2008 Fri Feb 22 12:37:58 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sat Mar 22 16:05:52 -0700 2008 Fri Mar 28 22:54:06 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Nov 01 00:00:00 -0800 2000 Tue Nov 18 14:33:36 -0800 2008 Tue Nov 18 14:33:51 -0800 2008 dot.com boom. The book went into the culture and atmosphere of Silicon Valley, how weird it was, how exciting it was, how people came to find their fortunes, how money was thrown around like no tomorrow. It was fascinating, and around that time,...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Sep 22 15:36:39 -0700 2007 Tue Nov 20 21:27:38 -0800 2007 This is not the typical book I would have read, but it furthered my the...more...]]> 1 0 false false Sun Aug 19 18:41:33 -0700 2007 Mon Sep 17 14:13:48 -0700 2007 dot.com billionaire that still sleeps under his desk! - and then blah the story down until it was stumbling and pedantic to read. Good hook, no backup.]]> 5 0 false false Thu Jan 03 00:00:00 -0800 2002 Tue Feb 19 14:47:45 -0800 2008 Tue Feb 19 14:47:45 -0800 2008 4 0 false false Tue Nov 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Mon Apr 30 01:17:51 -0700 2007 Mon Apr 30 01:17:51 -0700 2007 2 0 false false Tue Oct 02 20:24:53 -0700 2007 Tue Oct 02 20:26:02 -0700 2007 3 0 false false Fri Jun 01 08:28:40 -0700 2007 Fri Jun 01 08:29:12 -0700 2007 3 0 true false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2000 Sun Jul 13 20:55:07 -0700 2008 Sun Jul 13 20:56:04 -0700 2008 3 0 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2000 Thu Jun 21 14:27:57 -0700 2007 Fri Jun 22 09:15:18 -0700 2007 3 0 false false Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Sep 13 14:11:19 -0700 2008 Fri Oct 31 12:37:44 -0700 2008 1 ]]> 4 0 false false Sun Sep 14 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Sep 15 19:44:20 -0700 2008 Mon Sep 15 19:44:48 -0700 2008 http://landismom.wordpress.com/2008/09/1...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Aug 13 18:31:17 -0700 2008 Wed Aug 13 18:31:43 -0700 2008 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=119751