CODE 742
The Monk and the Riddle: The Education of a Silicon Valley Entrepreneur
R Komisar, K Lineback (2000)

This is a lively and humorous narrative about the education of a unique Valley insider. It unfolds over the course of an ongoing dialogue between Komisar and would-be entrepreneurs, "Lenny and Allison," and is at once a portal into the inner workings of Silicon Valley-from how start-ups get launched to how venture capitalists do their deals to how plans get prepared and pitched. The book imparts invaluable lessons about the differences between leadership and management and passion and drive, and about the meaning of professional and personal success. "When all is said and done," writes Komisar, "the journey is the reward."

CODE 743
Fire in the Valley: The Making of the Personal Computer
P Freiberger & M Swaine (Updated 1999)

In 1975, Popular Electronics magazine published a cover story on the Altair, an odd metal box that proved to be the progenitor of today's PC. Inspired by the possibilities, unlikely entrepreneurs--hippies, dropouts, phone phreaks and electronics hobbyists--seized the opportunity. How those personal computer pioneers went from side-street garages to Wall Street's graces, and how their brilliance, enthusiasm, camaraderie, and competition changed the world is all here. First released in 1984, this classic uniquely captures the explosive, frenetic energy of those early days. This updated edition features interviews with the major players, new chapters, dozens of new photos, and updates that carry the story forward into the Internet era.

CODE 744
Accidental Empires: How the Boys of Silicon Valley Make Their Millions, Battle Foreign Competitions and Still Can't Get a Date
R X Cringely (1996)

This book is the trenchant, vastly readable history of the computer manufacturing industry, focusing as much on the odd personalities at its core-Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Mitch Kapor, etc -as it does on the remarkable technology they created. Cringely reveals the manias and foibles of these men (they are always men) with deadpan hilarity and cogently demonstrates how their neuroses have shaped the computer business. But Cringely gives us much more than high-tech voyeurism and insider gossip. From the birth of the transistor to the mid-life crisis of the computer industry, he spins a sweeping saga of creativity and ego that is at once uproarious, shocking and inspiring.

CODE 745
Burn Rate: How I Survived the Gold Rush Years on the Internet
Michael Wolff (1998)

Wolff was one of the first to see the potential of the Internet and one of the pioneers of new media. As he built his company, Wolff knew he had stumbled on the seminal business story of the 1990s. Burn Rate is about the struggles of being an entrepreneur.. With mordant wit, this book portrays life on the edge of capitalism -- where your saviour, the venture capitalist, may also be your undoing. The venture capitalist reveals to Wolff the secret workings of business, as well as the human dimensions of how Internet companies are made, bought, and sold. You'll get to know the geeks, billionaires, weasels, and, of course, visionaries he meets along the way.

CODE 746
The Silicon Boys and Their Valley of Dreams
David A. Kaplan (2000)

Kaplan takes us on a riotous romp through the history and culture of the Valley. How did Yahoo get started, what nearly killed Netscape, will Apple survive, who's the most powerful person in Silicon Valley? Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Jerry Yang, Larry Ellison, Andy Grove, John Doerr, Marc Andreessen, Jim Clark - the tycoons, the loons, and the hot-air balloons are all here. Based on first-hand accounts and extensive interviews, The Silicon Boys is a sharp and uproarious portrait of high-tech high jinks and the Valley's moneyed lifestyle.

CODE 749
NetSlaves: True Tales of Working the Web
B Lessard & S Baldwin (2000)

The Internet is "HOT." Just ask the workers who've been burned by it. Behind the industry propaganda and media hype are thousands of individuals trying, against the odds, to make a decent living while they keep everything going. These are the NetSlaves, and their stories have been missing from all the gleeful talk of the future of the Web. Based on interviews with workers from across the spectrum of Internet-related jobs, the book offers humorous and not-so-humorous eyewitness accounts of the gruelling hours, poor management, dehumanising pressures and paranoia-inducing stresses faced by the women and men on the e-business frontier.

CODE 750
L.E.O: The Incredible Story of the World's First Business Computer
D Caminer et al (1997)

This book takes you behind the scenes at the creation of the world's first business computer - the precursor to every computer in every office around the world. It places you in the midst of a dynamic group visionaries who were the first to recognise the potential and harness the power of computing for business purposes. Written by the real-life participants in these exciting events, it reveals the strange and remarkable tale of how Lyons - a venerable tea-and-cake company - bred, incubated, and hatched that history-making business computer. In 1951, less than 2 years after the project was initiated, LEO went on-line as the world's first business computer.

CODE 751
High-Tech Startup: The Complete How-To Handbook for Creating Successful New High-Tech Companies
J Nesheim & E Brett (2000)

This book was written to help creative people be more successful in converting a good idea into a finance-able business. It covers high technology start-ups, typically venture backed. The lessons presented also apply to creating new enterprises within existing corporations. High Tech Startup is a practical book with lots of tips. It contains case studies of real Silicon Valley start-ups, both successes and failures, and includes analysis of difficult situations which start-ups encounter along the way. Hard-to-find stock tables show how much founders and investors actually got in real companies. Chapters explain the required stages in the start-up process from idea to the initial public offering.

CODE 752
Digital Capital: Harnessing the Power of Business Webs
D Tapscott, A Lowy, D Ticoll (2000)

B-webs - partner networks of producers, service providers, suppliers, infrastructure companies, and customers linked via digital channels - are destroying the firm as we have known it and generating wealth in entirely new ways." "In Digital Capital, information-age visionaries Don Tapscott, David Ticoll, and Alex Lowy describe and explain the b-web phenomenon and the forces behind its emergence. Drawing on three years of multimillion-dollar research into hundreds of b-webs, they provide the definitive guide to business-model innovation in the digital economy.

CODE 753
Nerds 2.0.1: A Brief History of the Internet
Stephen Segaller (1999)

The overnight sensation of the Internet really has taken 30 years to arrive. Nerds 2.0.1 brings us the often comical history of networking technology and the personal stories of those who made it happen from the Pentagon to the first academic network; from the researcher who lived in the future at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center to the hackers who jumpstarted the PC industry; from the entrepreneur who made a fortune with the motto "Steal My Software" to the hippies who created a virtual community for Grateful Deadheads; from the late start of the sleeping giant, Microsoft, belatedly recognising the Internet tidal wave, to the twenty-something founders of the Web media company Excite.

CODE 754
Hyperwars: 11 Strategies for Survival and Profit in the Era of Online Business
Bruce Judson (1999)

Entire industries, ranging from computer sales to law firms, are being thrown into chaos as consumers shift buying patterns when they find that many functions can be performed better, faster and more conveniently in the online world than in the physical one. In Hyperwars, industry innovator Bruce Judson outlines 11 action-orientated strategies for the new era of e-commerce and analyses the methods used by hundreds of successful companies, from local businesses to multinational corporations. From guidance on cutting costs to tips for winning market dominance, Judson provides readers with the tools they need to remain competitive in the age of hyperwars.