Jesse and Eric were geeks: suspicious of authority figures, proud of their status as outsiders, fervent in their belief in the positive power of te...
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Aug 15, 2011
Mrinaalika
rated it: 
Geeks was a good and simple read. It wasn't one of those compelling, riveting, hanging on to your chair sort of books, which I kind of prefer, but it was more like I was reading into the life of some friends. Jon Katz wrote the book as a friend of the two main characters, and he coined in how he felt about the new boys (especially Jesse) and how, after watching them grow for so long, hoped they would succeed. Jon had become almost like a father, watching the boys deal with family stress, being t
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Oct 29, 2010
Trent
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I had to read this as part of a training I am doing, but I really enjoyed it. I'm a half-geek, and could relate to some of the feelings in the novel. As a teacher, though, it really had an impact on me. It made me think about how I treat my students especially those who may socially be on the fringes. We have endorsements, trainings and classes about how to deal with many types of "at-risk" students. However, I have not participated in many at all (nor am I aware of many) that dis
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Jul 31, 2011
Lindsay
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I wrote a massive long review about how I hated this book, but it didn't save. Pretty much it's about two whiny 19 year old boys from Idaho (like myself) who hate it here and a the author gives the idea to move out of state because there are jobs for geeks all over. So he helps them move to Chicago and helps them get jobs and even helps one of them get into college. Fist off, Idaho isn't as bad as they make it out to be. Second, if they hated it here so much, then they should've just made sure t
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Apr 29, 2008
Darcy
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Couldn't hack it--the New York journalist author was continuously down on Idaho like it was the most backwoods hick place in the world and that he thought every intelligent life form would never be able to live here. He also thought geeks were the only intelligent life form on earth. I hate that narrow kind of thinking with snap judgements made and held as beliefs. Too bad. I would have liked to enjoy it for the local interest.
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Jun 09, 2009
Awallens
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This book is about two computer geeks who make their way from rural Idaho to chicago for work and for a better life. It also blends the author's oppinions— often unflattering and frankly annoying of Idaho and nongeeks— and also the social problems geeks often have. I wanted to like this book more, I really did. having said that, I didn't for a number of reasons. I didn't like how the author portrayed Idaho. Surely he could have found one or two nice things to say about the inhabitants, be
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Apr 12, 2009
Patrick
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Focusing on the lifestyle of “typical geeks,” Geeks: How Two Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho tells the true story of two teenage boys living in an unchanging, unpromising town of Idaho. Not being part of the crowd, Jesse and Eric spent any time they had outside of school taking part in the activities that most kids their age didn’t find interesting; ‘geekdom’ filled their lives via e-mails, modems, and motherboards. This was enough of a future for them at first, but it wouldn’t be long until
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Jul 22, 2011
Razakius
rated it:
I was amazingly enthralled by this book which at times felt more like a piece of fiction than a piece of non-fiction. I think this was really well written. My only real problem with it was the Hellsmouth section towards the end which was a section written regarding the Columbine Shootings. While certainly it wasn't bad that it was included, considering that it had little to do with the two main people in the book, Jesse and Eric, it actually detracted from the overall story. I think it would hav
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May 23, 2009
Tony
rated it:
When I'm not playing Xbox or troubleshooting a computer, I like to indulge myself in books about other cultures. One such of these books is Jon Katz's Geeks. First, throw out all your pre-conceived notions about geeks. Next, pick them back up and ponder why you even threw them out to begin with. Geeks is indeed a story about geeks. Your most average run of the mill geeks. In this day and age, it appears a geek is more a title for the latent successful than one to be taken in strife.
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Dec 08, 2010
Morgan
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In 1999, Jon Katz, a journalist for various tech magazines and websites, received an email from a nineteen year old named Jesse. Katz was so intrigued by Jesse’s story that he flew to Idaho to meet him. What resulted is this fantastic story about how Jesse and Eric, two self-described geeks, left their small town in Idaho for the big-time in Chicago where they got jobs, got social lives, and got into college. 14+.
*I had to laugh a few times while reading this book when Katz describe More...
*I had to laugh a few times while reading this book when Katz describe More...
Nov 05, 2007
Joshua
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Sociologically, this could have been a great mid-90s period piece about two intelligent, tech-savvy yet socially and experientially retarded teenagers who ride the dotcom boom out of the small, white trash Idaho town that is really sucking their souls. The characters that Katz -- a journalist for Slashdot, Slate, and Hotwired -- wrote about were engaging; however, his treatment of them was overly sympathetic to the point of being somewhat maudlin.
It attempted to be a nonfictional b More...
It attempted to be a nonfictional b More...
Mar 02, 2011
Jessie
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If I hadn't been reading this for a book club at work, I never would have finished it. I found it annoying for so many reasons. Instead of "How two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho," It should really be renamed, "How I Singlehandedly Saved One and a Half Boys from the Mormons." That was how the author really approached it.
It also drove me nuts because it's about technology, and it was written in the year 2000. He kept trying to wow the reader with the power More...
It also drove me nuts because it's about technology, and it was written in the year 2000. He kept trying to wow the reader with the power More...
Aug 29, 2010
Aaron
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Extremely fascinating book about, titularly indicated, a pair of friends who used the internet from Idaho to Chicago. This sounds either incredibly simple or boring or both, but it takes place in the dawn of the internet era and is actually quite impressive.
The story in itself would be enough to keep anyone interested, but it is very well written. A quick read that is both entertaining and somewhat moving.
The story in itself would be enough to keep anyone interested, but it is very well written. A quick read that is both entertaining and somewhat moving.
Jun 26, 2010
Josh
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This book reads like one big long magazine article. This is probably because the author is a journalist by trade. Still, with a tagline, "How two lost boys rode the internet out of Idaho", I had to read it. It was not really all that interesting an insight into geek culture. I already knew all that. However, it was an interesting insight into how this one person discovered geek culture and how *he* views it.
Oct 17, 2010
Stephanie
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This was assigned reading for a class I'm taking over the year and I really liked it. It gave me further insights to those kids we call "geeks" - the ones who are socially awkward, love technology, and who aren't afraid to be different or refuse to be part of what society calls 'the norm'. Easy read, worth my time. Now I just need to find out what became of the two boys.
Feb 24, 2009
Melanie
rated it:
Geeks by Jon Katz
The author bugs two guys from Idaho into moving “out into the world.” He wants them to know and experience the bigger world out there.
Aspects that appeal to teens:
Moving out on your own, making your own way in the world.
Will teens relate:
Geeks will, also those who have the need to get away or have dreams of getting away.
Developmental areas:
Adult role model, motivation, responsibility, planning and decision making. More...
The author bugs two guys from Idaho into moving “out into the world.” He wants them to know and experience the bigger world out there.
Aspects that appeal to teens:
Moving out on your own, making your own way in the world.
Will teens relate:
Geeks will, also those who have the need to get away or have dreams of getting away.
Developmental areas:
Adult role model, motivation, responsibility, planning and decision making. More...
Sep 08, 2010
Tina
rated it:
The subtitle on this one was what sucked me in. I'm from Idaho. Imagine my surprise when I discovered the boys are from my hometown of Caldwell, Idaho. The depressingly true description of the town by the author made a great starting place for the book. After that I lost interest in all the "geek-speak".
Sep 01, 2010
Cathy
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I read this about seven years ago, and loved the references to Columbine,and all the latest stuff going on with technology and computers at that time. I used the book for summer reading for my seniors for two years in a row.
Jan 11, 2011
Daisy
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I read this book on my way to and from CES, so clearly it fit. I though the book was really interesting. I could relate to the book and it helped me understand some things that not many other books on the topic have. Although i haven't really read a book like this before.
Apr 05, 2010
Justin
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Fascinating book. Two things to read this for: understanding what geek culture is about and what it revolves around, also the persecution geeks received post Columbine.
May 31, 2010
Linda
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I just loved this story about two computer geeks that worked together in a dead-end job in a computer store in Idaho. They wind up in Chicago in more dead-end jobs and far away from the life they want to lead. How they evolve and how they shake their small town, small time lives is wonderfully written by ROLLING STONE writer Jon Katz, who wrote a piece on these kids originally, in ROLLING STONE. In fact, they got out of Idaho because of the article. My daughter, the high school librarian, br
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Mar 05, 2011
Mama
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Thought-provoking in places. Extremely annoying on occasion. This book made me more aware of the students who don't fit the "traditional" student mold. I found myself listening more and better to those kids who are easily over-looked or ignored. In that sense, it was a worthwhile read for me. Could have done without the "I hate Mormons" rhetoric.
Dec 17, 2009
A.
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A lot of the tech talk in this is outdated and outstripped by now -- it was published in 2000 -- but it was an interesting look into the geek lifestyle in the late 90s. Fascinating and often sad, but a good read. My geek lifestyle is different in substance than Jesse and Eric's, but has at points been similar in emotion. I mean, after all, I live with someone I met through geek pursuits on the internets, and she's on of my best friends in the world. So the internets do good things, which is
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Nov 07, 2008
Tom
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Great look at the world of geeks circa 1999. At a time when internet access was mainly for academics and geek culture, Slashdot.org just coming into prominence, and the computing world ablaze, we follow the author and 2 teenagers from Idaho on their journey into Chicago and the world. Interesting how the story runs into the MSM coverage of the Columbine shootings, causing the beginning of the Hellmouth series on Slashdot. Well written book -- at the end you feel you really know who Jesse (the mo
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Sep 15, 2008
Eric▲
rated it:
Geeks, by John Katz, is a great book about the life of two geeks, Eric and Jesse, move out of Idaho. It started as a mission to define what "geek" meant, gut then the plot changes when---never mind! I don't want to spoil the surprise!---Anyway, it also talks a little about the effects of the Columbine shootings on geeks. If i say any more i will ruin the surprise! This is a great book!
Feb 10, 2011
Bryan
rated it:
It was much better than I expected. I can identify with the boys a little because of their love of technology. It is interesting some of the cultural shifts that have taken place because of need for people who understand technology.
Oct 04, 2009
I hate to give this book a rating as it may well be very good, just not my type of read. It is a true story of two "geeks" who one day while looking at their peers realized ,"I am a geek...I will never be like them..." Through this self realization, they found peace and self confidence in this realization and went on to greatness.
Jan 29, 2012
Details the lives of two high-school nerds from Idaho who learned they could use their computer skills in a large city where those skills would be valued rather than ridiculed as had been the case. The writing style is good, but the book frankly bored me.
Jul 10, 2007
Candace
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Good book if you are interested in 1. technology, 2. boise, 3. slash-dot or rolling stone magazine, 4. chicago. Maybe not quite as good if you do not care about any of those subjects.
Oct 22, 2008
Frank
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wow this book is so crazy but so real. be a geek be proud. the world needs us without us no nothin. this book is basicly is about 2 boys ho rule and boys rode.
