The Nudist on the Late Shift: And Other True Tales of Silicon Valley (edit title)

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Liked It Rated 5 stars “It might not translate today, but when I read this in '99/2000, I thought this was a great read. I found it inspiring.” see full review » see other reviews »

Didn’t Like It Rated 2 stars “mildy entertaining” see full review » see other reviews »

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  • Rated 2 stars

  “mildy entertaining”

  postscript wrote this review Friday, July 31 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No

  
  
  • Rated 3 stars

  “Sample passage (p.248):
  "I had a Realtor down in Santa Clara show me a three-bedroom ranch home ‘priced to move’ at half a million’
  ‘Who can afford to buy a house now?’ I exclaimed.
  Then she told me how housing prices had gone up $1,000 a week this past year, with no end in sight.
  She said, ‘At that rate, who can afford not to buy a house now?’”
  
  Reading journalism about the near past always seems help me put the present media into better perspective; and so, in 2008, I reread this portrait of Silicon Valley when it was at the height of the Internet bubble in 1999.
  
  I think Po Bronson is one of the best contemporary ‘new journalists’ at capturing the timeless human element of business stories. But, Po Bronson is at his worst when he starts pontificating about ‘what it all means.’ (For example, in the introduction he makes the blanket statement that “every generation that came before us had to make a choice in life between pursuing a steady career and pursuing wild adventures.” Really? The employees of the East India Company, or the space program, or thousands of other endeavors since the dawn of time might feel differently.) While there is plenty of ‘here’s how the rules have changed’ bluster in this same vein, the benefit of hindsight makes it easier to just grin and move past these pronouncements and onto the next part of the story.
  
  The fact that this book still makes for a worthwhile read even when so much of the ‘irrational exuberance’ has now been tempered by reality is a testament to Mr. Bronson’s contagious fascination with people who follow their passions.
  ”

  Laura and Eric wrote this review Saturday, July 12 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No

  
  
  • Rated 5 stars

  “It might not translate today, but when I read this in '99/2000, I thought this was a great read. I found it inspiring.”

  dshaw wrote this review Thursday, August 30 2007. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No

  
  
  • Rated 3 stars

  “If you're a big fat geek, or if you work in a cubicle somewhere, you'll appreciate this collection of stories about workplace eccentrics.”

  jzine wrote this review Friday, May 11 2007. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No