The Godfather of Silicon Valley: Ron Conway and the Fall of the Dot-Coms

by Gary Rivlin

Book Overview

Gary Rivlin tells the story of Ron Conway, the man who has placed more bets on Internet start-ups than anyone eise in Silicon Valley. Conway is a reader-friendly way into the realm of angel financing,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 081299163X
• ISBN13: 9780812991635
• Release Date: September 2001
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Length: 128 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 5.2" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Reads like a novel!

The dot-com rise and fall that you can read in a couple of sittings. Rivlin does a really good job of telling the story of the madness of the dot-com bubble, and then its precipitous fall, through the story of one man, Ron Conway, who invested in more Internet startups (240) than anyone else. Rivlin has a good eye for detail, and his descriptions of some of the crazier ideas that Conway funded alone are worth the price of the book. You know things are going to end badly but that's the fun of this book, Rivlin somehow manages to make it all suspensful.

A great read!

Rivlin has written a marvelous, entertaining peek into the strange alice-in-wonderland world of high tech finance. Rivlin didn't allow himself to be co-opted by his subjects and the result is a frank and honest view that will make some insiders wince, but delight anyone trying to understand what makes Silicon Valley tick.

Can't help but watch the car wreck...

This is a fast, easy read. Perhaps it's a bit cruel to kick a man while he is down. But it sure is something to watch the action as he accelerates down the dot-com highway and then crash horribly. Read this book, learn very little, but what's a few hours in a down economy?

Excellent Book on the Burst of the Internet Bubble

I have read all four of Rivlin's books and whether he is writing about Chicago's first black mayor Harold Washington or Bill Gates, I have always found his reportage highly skilled and his writing, while occasionally biting in style, is descriptive, crisp and easy-to-read. That would apply to "King of the Angels" as well. The fact that Conway "invited" Rivlin to follow him for a few days should not preclude Rivlin from including "warts" in his portrayal of Conway, as the previous reviewer suggests. I look forward to Rivlin's next book.