The Nudist on the Late Shift: And Other True Tales of Silicon Valley

This is a droll and perceptive look at the current state of high-tech startups. I thought it was both a terrific read and an accurate portrayal of the late 20th century tulip-bulb investment phenomenon. Bronson kept close tabs on several startups, follo

No other book that I have read is more illustrative of the feel of today's Silicon Valley than Po Bronson's latest book. It stands alongside John Sculley's "Odessey" and Vikram Seth's "The Golden Gate" in it's unique ability to capture the moment.

The odd thing about reeading this book is that it seems like I've heard it all before. And the truth is that I have. In some form, somewhere on the web, in all my reading I have heard most of the eight stories before. This just reinforces the transcendant quality of the chapters, each approaches myth. And yet even though I knew what was coming next, each was fresh in re-reading.

A memorable work.

An excellent look into Silicon Valley, startups, and the IPO process. This book was pre-dot.com collapse and pre-changes to the way that stock options are accounted for, so some of the information is dated now, but it does provide a good window into the culture.

As a novelist and writer for Wired and other publications, Po Bronson has earned a reputation as the most exciting and authentic literary voice to emerge from Silicon Valley. In his national bestseller The Nudist on the Late Shift he tells the true story of the mostly under-thirty entrepreneurs and tech wizards, immigrants and investors, dreamers and visionaries, who see the Valley as their Mecca. Taking us inside the world of these newcomers, brainiacs, salespeople, headhunters, utopians, plutocrats, and innovators as they transform our culture, The Nudist on the Late Shift is a defining portrait of a new generation in the whirl of an information revolution and an international gold rush.

I remember liking this book when I read it.

I liked the story about the software salesperson trying to sell software they know is inferior.

I liked the story about the guy who came up with the idea about hotmail.

Sadly, i've lived this. Very real.