Barbarians Led by Bill Gates |
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Jennifer Edstrom, Marlin Eller
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Pages: 256 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 0805057544
Pub: Henry Holt & Company
Pub date: 1998-06
Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 455541
Reader Reviews:
Catching Up (0/0 people found this helpful)
Despite what many people have said about this book, I found it very intriguing to have learned many problems that Microsoft faced before becoming the name it is today. Who knew that they had many internal problems with programmers from IBM. No one really. This book spills the beans on how Microsoft and luck made them the giant company they are today. This book will inform the reader on many unknowns about Microsoft that I'm positive no one ever knew.
Worth a read, but isn't fascinating (0/0 people found this helpful)
Definitely worth a read, but is not in the same league as say, Jim Carlton's book on Apple. A lot of conversation that makes it read more like a badly written novel and the authors tend to flatter themselvers rather, but it does contains some interesting nuggets on Microsoft's history that make it worth persevering. The book has the odd technology gaffe - Java is called 'an Internet scripting language' at one point!
Brilliant (0/0 people found this helpful)
A brilliant book well worth buying, it gives the reader an idea of what is going on inside both Microsoft and Bill Gates's head
Poorly Written (0/0 people found this helpful)
I was shocked at the low quality of the writing and the frequent use of crass and trendy expressions. From that perspective, its a book you might pick up in 10 years and have a hard time understanding. Not of course, that it was very understandable anyway.
The book seem to be stuck together from notes by Eller and Edstrom without really meshing the two. As others have noted the Eller material is pretty self-aggrandizing so its hard to believe.
As a software developer I was too hoping for an inside view (I bought it during a layover returning from Microsoft conference). There are a few interesting tidbits like Eller's description of his mock-up of what became known as in-place editing in OLE. However, given the other anecdotes I don't really know if it happened.
The book, I Sing the Body Electronic, tracking the development of a childrens title at Microsoft was much more entertaining and realistic.
And you thought they were a slick operation? (0/0 people found this helpful)
You think that in small organisations that things seem to be led by petty bureaucracy and unethical standards? Well this book dispels the myths that even a megacorp such as Microsoft is a slick machine. Buying and programming away innovation, Microsoft like Goliath is large and clumsy and its a wonder how it ever survived!
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Categories
Amazon.co.uk places this book into the following categories:
Books -> Subjects -> Computing & Internet -> General AAS
Books -> Subjects -> Business, Finance & Law -> Biographies & Histories -> Company Histories
Books -> Subjects -> Business, Finance & Law -> General
Books -> Subjects -> Business, Finance & Law -> General AAS
Books -> Subjects -> Business, Finance & Law -> Management -> General AAS
Books -> Refinements -> Language (feature_browse-bin) -> English
Books -> Refinements -> Age (feature_two_browse-bin)
Books -> Refinements -> Format (binding_browse-bin) -> Hardcover
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