Grumby [Hardcover]

Andy Kessler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 3, 2010 | ISBN-10: 098271632X | ISBN-13: 978-0982716328 | Edition: 1

In this comic novel a band of hacker-geeks load state-of-the-art artificial intelligence, including working eyes, ears, spy software, and a smart mouth, into a bunch of old Furby dolls, re-christened Grumbies, network them together, sell millions, become rich and famous and make enemies/allies of Mossad, the CIA, Google, Microsoft, IRS, Goldman Sachs, the guys from Google, and Steve Jobs.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Andy Kessler is the author of Wall Street Meat, Running Money, How We Got Here and The End of Medicine. Andy worked on Wall Street for almost 20 years, as a research analyst, investment banker, venture capitalist and hedge fund manager. After starting a career designing chips at Bell Labs, Andy worked for PaineWebber and Morgan Stanley and was a partner at Velocity Capital. He has written op-eds for the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Technology Review, the New York Times and elsewhere and has appeared on CNBC, CNN, Fox, NPR and Dateline NBC. He lives in Northern California with his wife and four sons.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 408 pages
• Publisher: Richard Vigilante Books; 1 edition (August 3, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 098271632X
• ISBN-13: 978-0982716328
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #368,996 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Andy Kessler is the author of Wall Street Meat, Running Money, How We Got Here and The End of Medicine. Andy worked on Wall Street for almost 20 years, as a research analyst, investment banker, venture capitalist and hedge fund manager. After starting a career designing chips at Bell Labs, Andy worked for PaineWebber and Morgan Stanley and was a partner at Velocity Capital. He has written op-eds for the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Technology Review, The New York Times and elsewhere and has appeared on CNBC, CNN, Fox, NPR and Dateline NBC. He lives in Northern California with his wife and four sons.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A winner - Microserfs meets Bonfire of the Vanities, June 23, 2010

By 

John Gallaugher (Newton, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Grumby (Kindle Edition)

Grumby is the best novel about startups since Douglas Coupland's Microserfs - a funny, crackling tale with real business and tech industry insider knowledge. A must read for the "TechCrunch" crowd, you'll find yourself hunting to match up many of the novel's characters with their real-world counterparts in a way that a prior generation did while reading "Bonfire of the Vanities".

Kessler's business books and columns pop with humor and rich story telling and fans will find the best traits preserved in his first fiction book. Dialog-driven, and tech-centric, the book strikes the perfect and tough-to-achieve balance of geek-speak and business jargon without alienating those who can't sling code or read a balance sheet.

Grumby also provides a rollicking speculation on where key tech industry trends - Moore's law, the cloud, offshore labor, open source, peer-produced content, and others - might lead. While I often find business books and business novels a disappointment, Grumby is that rare, satisfying gem and is a must-read for anyone interested in a vicarious rocket-ride through the startup, tech, VC space.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing view into what startup life is like, September 16, 2010

By 

J. Michael Arrington - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Grumby (Hardcover)

If you've ever wondered what it's like to be in the whirlwind of a silicon valley startup, this book is for you. It's fast paced and extremely accurate. Lovely book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very funny, August 23, 2010

By 

Frank MACMILLAN (Lake Wylie SC) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Grumby (Hardcover)

I read Grumby in two sittings in less than 24 hours. It has the driving beat and speed of a heavy metal band; it's enough to make your head spin. But it is compelling at the same time. The pacing is great, giving us a "real time" feel for the rollercoaster ride that is the tech industry and some of the dialog is just LOL hilarious. As a non-tech, non- VC civilian, I can promise that this story will entrance the lay reader as much as the more tech savvy ones. Educational with a light touch but mostly just flat out funny.