Review: "The New New Thing" by Michael Lewis

I did not finish this book. This may be nothing to some of you, but you should understand that I have only done this about twice in my whole life for books I've chosen to read for pleasure. I take my books seriously; picking one up is a commitment.

But I bailed.

"The New New Thing" by Michael Lewis is a solid "-". This is the story of Jim Clark, founder of Silicon Graphics, Netscape, and Healtheon. Also one of the "shapers of the New Economy" who had a big hand in making Silicon Valley the phenomenon that it is right now.

Why did I hate this book? First of all, it pissed me off. I think the author is writing pure hyperbole. Yeah yeah yeah, it's The New Economy, and it's ruled by engineer-assholes who everyone is nonetheless shamelessly jealous of. But Lewis is caught up in that web (so to speak) about ten times as bad as the foreign programmers who kiss Jim Clark's ass and work 24 hours a day for a handful a stock options. Lewis is caught up worse because he doesn't have any stock options-- he just gets to write about them. And he doesn't get it. So it's a BAD, hyperbolic description of something not so pretty in the first place-- ick.

It also pissed me off because it is drenched in testosterone. There are essentially no women in the book because of course they play no role in the ultra-rich segment of Silicon Valley. Now and then they pop up as supporters or for comic relief. It's understood that they aren't important.

The whole thing is a boy's money club. It's disgusting.

Now, bear in mind that I don't actually object to reading books that piss me off! In fact, I do that with some frequency for the stimulation it provides. But the rule is: if it pisses me off, I have to be simultaneously learning something. There is nothing to learn from "The New New Thing" unless you weren't already aware that Jim Clark is an asshole.

The scary thing is, I'm not sure Lewis realizes just how similar Jim Clark (and other New Economy gurus that engineers line up to be slaves to) is to the likes of David Koresh. Once you realize that connection, Lewis' ga-ga worship of Clark et al becomes really nauseating.

Silicon Valley has a lot of geeks and authors who can't think for themselves. Luckily the rest of us make it a decent place.