The Silicon Boys: And Their Valley of Dreams

By David A. Kaplan

Book Overview

THE SILICON BOYS Jerry Yang The chief Yahoo of Silicon Valley and ultimate Internet tycoon...the poster boy for immigrant success who went from pennies to millions to billions...you'd say Yahoo, too John Doerr The J. P. Morgan of the Valley...the man Bill Gates fears most...bankrolled Netscape and Amazon.com...the man so wired he has a cell phone built into his ski helmet. Marc Andreessen The hottest, coolest, hungriest techno-weenie of his generation...his invention unleashed the World Wide Web and made him a multi-millionaire at twenty-four. Bill Gates Darth Vader, Godzilla, "the Leona Helmsley of technology"--he's the guy everybody loves to hate...the richest man in the galaxy and leader of the Evil Empire known as Microsoft. Jim Clark Founder of Netscape, daredevil pilot, and owner of the world's greatest cyber-yacht...the serial entrepreneur: "If at first you succeed--try, try again." Steve Jobs The prodigal son of Silicon Valley...started Apple Computer, got kicked out, then returned...arrogant, petty, a master marketer--the guy they hate to love. PLUSThe Valley's No. 1 adolescent...the programmer who could've beaten Bill Gates...Andy "the Mad Hungarian" Grove of Intel...the weirdest town in Silicon Valley...and where to buy eighteen-dollar-a-pound ostrich salami. It is an American icon -- the symbol of technological genius and ineffable wealth. It is the home to the Newest New Thing, where the digital age was born and keeps remaking itself. It's also the only place in the world where you can buy eighteen-dollar-a-pound ostrich salami. It is, of course, Silicon Valley. Now prize-winning Newsweek journalist David A. Kaplan takes us on a riotous romp through the history and culture of the Valley. How did Yahoo get started, what nearly killed Netscape, will Apple survive, who's the most powerful person in Silicon Valley? Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Jerry Yang, Larry Ellison, Andy Grove, John Doerr, Jim Clark -- the tycoons, the loons, and the hot-air balloons are all here. Based on firsthand accounts and extensive interviews, The Silicon Boys is a portrait of high-tech high jinks and its moneyed lifestyle like no other. If the Valley were a nation, its economy would rank among the world's twelve largest. Depending on yesterday's stock market close, roughly a quarter-million Siliconillionaires live in the Valley. Here they invented the microchip and video games and Internet commerce. But more important, they created a state of mind that's become part of the American imagination. The Valley has its admirable moments, its venal moments, and, best of all, its absurd ones.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0688161480
• ISBN13: 9780688161484
• Release Date: June 1999
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 1.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.1" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

What an amazing book!

Wow. What an amazing book. Not many books live up to my expectations, but this one surpassed it. David Kaplan manages to walk readers through the entire history of Silicon Valley, from orchards, to Apple, to Fairchild, to Intel, to Yahoo! and beyond, explaining every step of the way how each company is interrelated and the geneology of the people and the funding. There are antedotal stories along the way to keep you interested. He tells of the greed, and the lavish lifestyles. We get behind-the-scenes details of the deals that created the companies we all take for granted - Netscape, Microsoft, Yahoo, Intel, Apple, etc. This book is much more than merely the stories of those on the back cover (Yang, Doerr, Andreessen, Gates, Clark, Jobs): It is a detailed, well planned, well executed history of Silicon Valley. Anyone wanting to know the history of the valley or the history of the high tech companies in the valley need look no further than this book. It amazes me that Kaplan was able to pack so much fascinating information into just over 300 pages.

A great look into the magic kingdom

This was my summer vacation book last year, beginning and ending during my family's flight to and from San Francisco. We flew to California for the Women's World Cup match in Palo Alto. For me, as we drove our rental car throughout the Silicon Valley, Kaplan's book brought to life what went on behind the walls, whether on the Stanford campus, in the venture capital firms up the street, or on the verandas of the homes dotting the nearby hills. It was a terrific read and an insightful look at today's mega-rich and how they made it.

Amazing, fascinating and highly revealing.

Did you ever wonder where and how Netscape got its start? Think you know how Yahoo became the search engine powerhouse? Do you what Marc Anderseen did to become a millionaire?Read this most fascinating and captivating tale of the powerful giants of the silicon valley. Follow along as the "Boys" make their mark in computer history and how each of them made their millions.Find out who is the one man that Bill Gates fears or what the "boys" think of Steven Jobs. You'll read about greed and the lust for power, the undying quest by these men to become the best at what they do.The book is more than just the story of the rise to the top, it is laced with so much history of the silicon valley and those that had and has the desire to make it work and prosper. A very good book indeed!

I found Silicon Boys to be a page-turner

I am not much of a non-fiction reader outside of computer manuals and that sort of thing. I like a book that gets my adrenaline going and that I have a hard time to putting down.Well, suprise, suprise, for me, Silicon Boys was just that sort of book. I could hardly wait to read it and had a hard time putting it down to turn out the light.At first I thought it was just going to be sour grapes about the rich boys. But as I read further I got caught up into who discovered what and who stole what from whom and who was on their last dime and then became mega rich and - well- the whole intrigue of it all.David Kaplan has a way with words and in the future I will definitely be looking for his name in print.