Netscape Time: The Making of the Billion-Dollar Start-Up That Took on Microsoft

Jim Clark offers an adventurous account of the birth and volatile life of Netscape Communications Corp., the company that produced the Web browser that helped make the Internet a household tool. If the rags-to-riches dot-com start-up story has become cliché, bear in mind that when Netscape Navigator arrived on the market, the Internet was still largely the semi-private domain of a few academic oddballs. Due to the seminal role that Netscape played in turning the Internet into the omnipresent force that it is today, Clark's book does indeed represent an important first draft of history. The key phrase, of course, is first draft. If nothing else, Clark is a salesman and a promoter, and his goal here is to promote Netscape's version of history - a particularly important goal at a time when the U.S. courts are weighing the fate of the company's arch nemesis, Microsoft. Nevertheless, future historians will use this book in cobbling together the true tale of the Internet's origins, as well as the genesis of the stock mania of the late 1990s. We at getAbstract recommend this dramatic, and sometimes even suspenseful book, to all professionals, whose future decisions concerning the Internet will benefit from the de-mythologizing effect of historic perspective.

To all these 1 and 2 star reviewers: What planet are you on? This book is excellent. Easy to read. Really well written. And with much insight from the voice of someone who's been thru the business battleground. Clark's simile on page 134 about how Netscape's offices looked a few months into the start-up, the manic, hectic, pressurized pace left the offices looking "like a conceptual art exhibit at a state mental institution" qualifies the author as a first class wordsmith. And I second that opinion that Clark could make yet another fortune as a writer.

FROM A WRITER IN SAN FRANCISCONetscape Time rocks. Granted, occasionally Jim Clark comes off as the great Oz of the Silicon Valley. But more often than not he takes the reader behind the curtain by candidly revealing the inner workings -- the ups and downs and all the inbetweens --- he encountered while building " the billion-dollar start-up that changed the world." Who wouldn't be interested in the story of a guy who dared to shake his fist at the one who REALLY believes he is Oz? (Need we name names here?) This book is well worth the money. At the very least, even if the subject matter doesn't interest you, Netscape Time is such a damn good read it's worth the indulgence. Some guys have all the luck. Judging from Clark's eloquent prose, he could probably also launch a successful career as a novelist. Let's just hope he doesn't. The market is already tight enough for us struggling writers. Two thumbs up. Five stars. For sure.*****

Would you spend twenty dollars to spend about 8 hours listening to Jim Clark reminisce about starting SGI and Netscape? Then buy the book.For those familiar with the struggle of trying to accomplish something innovative, you will find his story strangely familiar. For those trying to innovate something on the Internet, you will find this book very encouraging. For those who read between the lines, you will find that it's not about the money, it's about "getting it" and being right, and money is the proof statement in this brave new world.Clark's direct no-nonsense style can be in your face at times, and you can see why the dense just couldn't get it, because no one likes being shouted awake from a deep sleep. But like most prophets, Clark sees no profit in beating around the burning bush. It seems to be a trait of the innovator.There is some real insight buried among the stories, as well as advice on how to deal with VCs and dilution of equity, problems many of us look forward to having.This should be an audio CD, since it is more of an epic poem than a book. It would be great to have a DVD version with addition points of view and multimedia. Netscape made the Internet a multimedia experience; it would seem only fitting that a book by its founder would do the same.