Pride Before the Fall: The Trials of Bill Gates and the End of the Microsoft Era [Paperback]

John Heilemann (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 14, 2002

Critically acclaimed from coast to coast, Pride Before the Fall is the definitive account of the trial that shook an economy: United States v. Microsoft. Award-winning journalist John Heilemann uncovers the explosive truth behind the headlines: how the high-tech kingpins Bill Gates had tried to destroy, together with a motley crew of anonymous crusaders, worked in secret to help the government take down the most powerful empire of the information age. As colorful and riveting as a detective novel, Pride Before the Fall is an unforgettable tale of human ambition and human frailtya timely saga of arrogance, hubris, ruthlessness, and revenge.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Like other "totemic firms" of recent years, Microsoft attained astounding power and profitability in stunningly short order--along with a slew of rivals who desperately wanted it broken into less threatening pieces. Few really believed it would happen when the U.S. Department of Justice first began looking into its operations, however, which made the eventual judgment against the company even more significant. "The humbling of Microsoft is the last great business story of the 20th century and the first great riddle of the 21st," writes John Heilemann in Pride Before the Fall, his insightful examination of the epic antitrust battle that began as a Wired magazine cover story. "There are fancier ways of putting it," he adds, "but the riddle is: how did it happen?" In the pages that follow, Heilemann examines the behind-the-scenes machinations that drove United States v. Microsoft, based largely on exclusive interviews he conducted with Bill Gates and his top lieutenants, Justice Department prosecutor Joel Klein, special trial counsel (and lead Democratic Florida recount litigator) David Boies, Intel chief Andy Grove, Sun Microsystems' Scott McNealy, and various "unknown soldiers" who arguably played the biggest role of all. With Microsoft's future still uncertain, Pride helps reset the tone in a case that will shape our high-tech future. --Howard Rothman --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

HNavigating the myriad twists and turns of the landmark antitrust suit against Microsoft, Heilemann forges a gripping, breakneck account of contemporary law applied to business conduct, peopled with rival visionaries, guardians of the public interest and brilliant trial lawyers. A former staff writer for the New Yorker and the Economist, Heilemann covered the case as a special correspondent for Wired in November; this is an expanded version of that extensive article. Having gained the trust of almost every major player, Heilemann vividly depicts the adversaries and their positions. In July 2000, Bill Gates told him, "We believe that what we've done is absolutely pro-competitive, and it's our right to stick up for that." Joel Klein, the Justice Department's assistant attorney general during the trial, is equally forthcoming: "What we found in Microsoft was a serious pattern of practices and behavior that... was predatory, lawless, and indefensible." Heilemann's insight into the legal process and his analysis of Gates's videotaped deposition, overseen by chief government counsel David Boies (now representing Vice-President Gore on ballot issues), are themselves worth the price of admission. Wherever readers' sympathies lie, Heilemann's careful timeline illuminates the points at which the case could have been settled. With journalistic panache, Heilemann explicates the reasons that both sides chose to await the ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals in spring 2001. (Jan. 23) Forecast: A major marketing campaign including national print and broadcast coverage as well as author appearances in West Coast cities will raise this title's profile. Display alongside U.S. v. Microsoft: The Inside Story of the Landmark Case by New York Times reporters Joel Brinkley and Steve Lohr could draw people to both titles, with the edge probably going to Heilemann's book.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Collins (May 14, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060011637
• ISBN-13: 978-0060011635
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #309,765 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #9 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( G ) > Gates, Bill
  • #20 in Books > Law > Administrative Law > Antitrust
  • #70 in Books > Computers & Technology > Business & Culture > Biographies

More About the Author

John Heilemann is the national political correspondent and columnist for New York magazine. An award-winning journalist and the author of Pride Before the Fall: TheTrials of Bill Gates and the End of the Microsoft Era, he is a former staff writer for The New Yorker, Wired, and The Economist. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Trial Book To Read, January 19, 2001

By 

fredric a maxwell - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pride Before the Fall: The Trials of Bill Gates and the End of the Microsoft Era (Hardcover)

PRIDE BEFORE THE FALL relays the trials of Microsoft from a different point of view than Auletta's account. Heilemann's access to the key players, many of whom are unknown to the general public and received nary a headline, is just excellent. If you're going to read only one book about the Microsoft trials, this is it.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Corporate Culture of Denial, February 9, 2001

By 

Jeff Christensen (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pride Before the Fall: The Trials of Bill Gates and the End of the Microsoft Era (Hardcover)

Pride Before the Fall is an excellent account of a company brought to its knees as much by its megalomaniac founder Bill Gates, as by the brilliant David Boies and the DOJ. Yet with all the overwhelming evidence of its guilt as outlined in the Findings of Fact on the case, as well as the "avowedly pro-Microsoft economists, culled from a list provided by the company itself - who flayed the firm for not conceding the obvious: that it did indeed try to eliminate competitors; that it was indeed a monopoly." Yet astonishingly, to this day Microsoft continues to believe, in the words of its CEO Steve Ballmer, "We have done nothing wrong." HELLO? Heilemann is by no means a Silicon Valley Microsoft-Basher. He also chronicles the ways in which the valley's elite (Sun,Intel,Apple) clandestinely provided witnesses and encouragement for the DOJ's attack on Microsoft. This case really has nothing to do with inhibiting Microsoft's abillity to innovate(as their PR spin doctors would like you to believe)but rather Microsoft's behavior and lack of contrition. A good, quick and balanced read.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rare that someone gets it, January 11, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Pride Before the Fall: The Trials of Bill Gates and the End of the Microsoft Era (Hardcover)

I've tired of explaining to people the Bill Gates/Microsoft monopoly to non-techies. I'm very surprised and happy of this writer's grasp of the core subject and lays it out in an interesting manner. Most books gloss over the "real" Bill Gates preferring to stick with his promotional machine's image but not this one.