The Silicon Boys: And Their Valley of Dreams (ISBN 0688161480)

Amazon.com Review:
Pop quiz: Where are American kids taught the nuances of being millionaires as part of their junior high curriculum? Where do guests at a posh outdoor party grouse about the defects of high-end flushable Porta-Johns? Where does a school auction rake in $439,000? The answer: Silicon Valley, of course. David A. Kaplan captures all that excess and more in The Silicon Boys. Kaplan's book is a history of the Valley, from the time when Stanford professor Frederick Terman encouraged David Packard and Bill Hewlett to establish their own company to when Sequoia Capital invested $1 million in a startup founded by Jerry Yang and David Filo. In between are the many Valley legends, including Fairchild Semiconductor, Intel, Kleiner Perkins, Apple, Oracle, and Netscape--as well as some of its most notable failures and tragedies, such as William Shockley and Gary Kildall. While the book begins with the opulence of Woodside, California, it ends surprisingly enough in Portland, Maine, with Bob Metcalfe, founder of 3Com, who fled the Valley for something "fresher" and "more alive." As he traces the short history of the area, Kaplan, a senior writer at Newsweek, detects a not-so-subtle change in its values. He writes, "Nobody appears to be having quite as good a time in Silicon Valley. Passions have become mere professions; impulsiveness is now compulsiveness.... The Valley once was a new machine. It changed the world. It may do so yet again. But the machine has no soul anymore." Here's a thoughtful and colorful read for anyone interested in one of the most dynamic places on the planet. --Harry C. Edwards

Good Description of Silicon Valley:
"The Silicon Boys and Their Valley of Dreams" is a well written description of Silicon Valley at it's peak. It describes the culture of the valley during the nineties. It is an interesting peek into the a world of driven software developers and venture capitalists and everyone else in their galaxies. It focuses on companies and names we've all heard of: Apple, Oracle, Netscape, Microsoft, Intel, and many more. For anyone in the technology industry, this book is a good window onto the 90s - pre dotcom mania.

Solid Silicon Story:
This was one of the best Silly Valley stories I've read yet. Kaplan does a very good job offering a historical and chronological storyline that educates the reader while holding interest. Hence an educational book that also happens to be very unique and authentic.

How I hated this book!:
I believe this is the only book I have ever literally thrown across the room. Where to begin describing its offensiveness? Let's see....It purports to be about Silicon Valley (I think)and yet completely misses the point of the place. Silicon Valley did not become the place it did because wealthy VCs attended charity events and had breakfast at Buck's. It was a great deal of study and hard work that got us here -- topics clearly far beyond Kaplan's breezy competence. People who admire Paris Hilton will probably like this book, too. It's pitched to her level.

Enthralling:
I thoroughly enjoyed this book from beginning to end. For anyone interested in the culture of Silcion Valley it is a must read. Yes, as other reviewers pointed out it jumps around quite a bit. Both in terms of pace and interest. However, taken as a whole it provides exciting stories of busines, personal flare, finance, and technology. A good read for anyone with at least a vague interest in the subject matter.

Amazing.:
"The Silicon Boys: And Their Valley Of Dreams" by David A. Kaplan is amazing. It tells of so many amazing stories of how technology has advanced so far, and of the people and companies that helped it happen. One great story is how MS-DOS beat out the CP/M operating system in the early days of computing. Another intriguing story told in this book is the rise and fall of Netscape, which was, at one point in time, the world's leading web browser software, and had an amazing history with its stock price. There is also a very interesting chapter in this book about the "KT Fund" which is now a prestigious and very successful investment fund that has many very wealthy people investing in it, such as Bill Gates, Steve Wozniac, Paul Allens, and more. A good read, though a little fast because you cannot put it down! Overall, I recommend this book strongly.