The Dinner Club: How the Masters of the Internet Universe Rode the Rise and Fall of the Greatest Boom in History

By Shannon Henry Kleiber and Shannon Henry

Book Overview

Since 1997, on the second Monday of each month, twenty-six of the most powerful men in business, the Vanderbilts and Morgans of their time, would gather to eat dinner, hear investment pitches, and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743222156
• ISBN13: 9780743222150
• Release Date: October 2002
• Publisher: Free Press
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.7" x 1.1" x 5.9"

Customer Reviews

A valuable look inside

This is one of those books that will gain in value as time passes. The Dinner Club looks at the critical time frame when the opening wave of success in the new technologies broke and retrenched. The useful insight this book provides is the snapshot of the individual club members and their focus on the future. Northern Virginia and its cultivation of technology is portrayed as well. Worth reading.

Fascinating...not necessarily insightful

Having been part of the high-tech community in the NoVA, I rushed out to buy this book so I could get a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the personalities and characters that unarguably drive the business and (to some extent) culture of this area. Overall, the book does deliver the insider perspective. It is successful at communicating the general feel of the 'era' - that bizarre blend of change-the-world optimism, unrealistic expectations, and at times mass-delusion. This is a chronicle of a particular time...not an insightful story about the personalities, or what drives them. The pacing and arrangement of the chapters was very disorienting...Ms Henry jumps between characters and anecdotes without good reason at times. In all, the book reads as a set of mostly independent vignettes, rather than a compelling story.(Incidentally, at the same time, I was reading Codename Ginger by Steve Kemper, which I highly recommend, which was technically a better written book...but other comparisions are unfair)In any case, this still makes for fascinating reading, even if it's sometimes in a superficial voyeuristic sense.

Fascinating

An inside look at an elite group of angel investors who helped elect a governor and rode the Internet boom and bust through the startups they backed and the companies they ran. As a volunteer with a Washington, D.C. entrepreneur's networking group, where I heard Ms. Henry speak, I was fascinated to read how mundane some up or down decisions can be when a company asks for financial support - a lesson to those looking for funding. These titans knew that vision, intelligence, and drive aren't everything and their penetrating questions of candidate startups suggest they tried to pass this knowledge on. The world changed and Ms. Henry was taking notes when it happened! I am grateful for her insights and unvarnished view.

This is a COOL book!

After reading a review of The Dinner Club in Wired, I picked up this book. I was very pleased and read it in one sitting on a recent plane trip. The characters are fascinating and overall the book reads as a good novel. The suspense and intrigue that held my interest throughout. I could definitely see this being a play or a movie.

terrific read....

I just finished reading THE DINNER CLUB by Shannon Henry and WOW! What a book....to be allowed into the inimate circle of such powerful men and hear their thoughts.....what made them tick. I was fascinated by the way they approached, not only business, but life. This book really humanizes these men and shows warts and all. The author has really nailed down the a time in history that is not likely to be repeating itself anytime soon. It's a great read for anyone.