Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A competent job, but lacks real insight, November 24, 2002
Like many other writers about technology companies, Karen Angel has simply read a lot of newspaper and magazine articles about the company, interviewed some knowledgeable outsiders (key insiders did not cooperate with her) and organized the resulting material in chronological sequence. If, like I, you are interested in learning the basic facts about Yahoo!, this book will suffice, but don't expect anything in the way of new revelations or searching analysis. What comes across is a group of relatively bright young computer nerds who happened to be in the right place at the right time, decided that they were the Christ, and imploded from their own greed and hubris, professing all the while their personal integrity. Urrrppp!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting history, maybe a bit dusty., November 11, 2005
This book is basically the history of the 500 lb gorilla of the dot-com debacle. It follows Yahoo! from its birth in a Stanford trailer up through the pits of despair in late 2001.
I personally learned quite a bit about the forces that shaped this "walking contradiction" of a company. For me (as a geek) the most interesting part was the history of what technologies and services have been rolled into the Yahoo! brand, including early plays into VoIP as far back as 1998 and Yahoo!'s short fling with adult content.
Lost a star for the (I felt) boring profusion of financial figures every few pages. Yes, the difference between GAAP and pro-forma reporting blah blah and stock rating by Bleedle and Blarney was changed fom zzzzz.... Some of this pure finance speak is obviously necessary to the story, since a lot of the action pivots on economic calamity. It just seemed that the book occasionally became the history of YHOO the stock instead of Yahoo! the company.
For "ancient history" (in Internet time) the book is a great resource. I'll still need something to fill in the gap between the ending of this book (the expectation at end of 2001 that Yahoo! would die, become irrelevant, or get acquired) through modern times. But taken for what it is, it's a handy reference.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Very Informative but lacks analysis, January 4, 2003
The author has used her sources effectively to delineate the Intenet boom and its subsequent fall, by describing Yahoo's growth from a Stanford trailer into a media company. She has captured the frenzy of the late 90's and takes the reader through the numerous accquisitions and investments in Silicon Valley. At the same time the book is an overkill with the excessive information provided and at times reads like an encyclopaedia with figures thrown in liberally. The fact that Yahoo hasn't cooperated with the author is evident in several places. Overall its a good read
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|