Seven Floors High

I actually worked in London on a year long placement and I was totally fascinated with this book. I even checked old wire reports and iaxis did infact exist, which for me made 7FH even more vivid and entertaining. The characters, dialogue and the way Goddard has structured his story is outstanding and it kept me engrossed for an entire day. The depiction of the firm's CFO or 'Chief Fire Officer' following the NASDAQ crash is priceless reading and is an experience in itself. The political side with all the secret spy stuff is unlike anything I've ever read before and it totally blew my mind. No detail seems to be spared. This is a smart book and a great investment for all venture capitalists!

A perfect exposure to greed, politics and British humor. I purchased this book nearly a year ago and I only got round to reading it very recently. If you are American and want to experience British humor in full office mode, then check out this book. The story of Goddard's time in iaxis is one of the funniest accounts of office interactions I've read in years and I laughed many times. It's true that the Brits have their own style and sense of humor, but if you deal with them through your work, you'll love this book! The writing style is very engaging and the author manages to keep the reader glued to the pages as we experience the greed that was in full swing during the telecoms bandwagon. I am not as up to speed on my foreign politics as I once was, so the shock factor for me was our Government in Washington running out of control with black ops and foreign policy merging in to one beast. This is probably one of the most politically informative books I can remember reading and I would say it is worth buying just to read about the politics alone. It has certainly triggered my interested in global politics once again and I now intend to purchase a copy of the DVD "Uncovered" which looks in to the recent invasion of Iraq.

A truely awesome book. Seven Floors High is a thoroughly entertaining and intelligently written book which I avidly read in two sittings. If you want a hilarious read about staff antics within a telecoms company that's rising high with the NASDAQ in 2000, then read this book as soon as you can. If you are interested in America's role in the modern world and want new information and a deeper understanding of some less well known CIA and NSA covert operations, then read every line of this book without delay. As a reader of many foreign policy books and papers, I saw clearly that the pages of Seven Floors High are loaded with important political facts and forbidden intelligence "gems," some of which are handed to the reader in a stealthy tone by a 'secret narrator.' And, just like Pandora who opened her box, reading the contents of Seven Floors High leaves the reader with the feeling that your hands are suddenly full of Pandora's forbidden "gems." ...And the readers perception of America's role in the world is changed forever. This book is very well crafted and the ending of the story's many elements is ingenious. A sure bombshell for anyone working in the intelligence field, this book contains lots of new information which I have never read in any "non-fiction" book and it should be read by every American without a doubt.

I was given this book as a present while on Christmas vacation to England and I could not put it down. The narrative of Seven Floors High takes the reader on a journey through the world of tanker chartering with the 'old boys' to a start-up telecoms company called iaxis. From here, the story describes the aspirations, antics, the high's and the low's of the iaxis staff during the NASDAQ telecoms boom of 2000, all seen through the perceptive eyes of the the iaxis Internet Peering Manager, Steve Goddard.For a first time writer, the writing is highly intelligent, humorous and very informative. The quality of writing really shines out through great characterization, constant eye catching detail and above all, by a highly ambitious espionage sub-theme, which is expertly woven together informing the reader of certain aspects of communications intelligence gathering operations by the NSA. Also added to this political theme is some astonishingly detailed covert intelligence material from the NSA/CIA's role in various countries. Those who are well informed in the dark arts of statecraft and tradecraft, this book will give you the opportunity to "read between the lines" and fill in a few gaps of whatever your perception is of the big picture from your time in Service.It is clear from the start that the intelligence material has been handled with supreme confidence by a young writer who knows his subject matter very well. From Chapter 1, Goddard draws in the reader and subtly details covert intelligence operations as a cryptic jigsaw puzzle that runs the length of the entire book. I would say that Seven Floors High is a must read for anyone with an interest in the Wall Street / NASDAQ boom of 2000, especially investors, traders and analysts, and also Intelligence Anaylsts of today's intake at Langley who want to learn more about past covert CIA/NSA operations should pick up this book and read it and then be held in awe at its detail, as it provides the little operational details that the New York Times and Washington Post are not lucky enough to print. (Mr Woodward...what do you do these days?)So why does the world not trust George W.Bush...? Read this book and hold your breath. As for Dick Cheney, Don Rumsfeld and ex-president George Bush Sr., burn every copy of this book you can find.

This is one of the best books I have read in a longtime. And the fact it is written by a first-time writer makes the impact even more shocking.It is set in a company called iaxis, based in London's ITN building, where anything seems to go in the quest for telecoms wealth and riches in the dotcom boom. The story has everything from sex, drugs, alcohol and even a suprisingly highly detailed espionage theme. This is provided by a 'secret narrator' and also person who appears later in the book who used to work for America's National Security Agency. Some of this information seems very close to the bone...Having worked in telecoms at the time, this book really is the business, telling you what really went on inside a start-up. If you don't know what internet peering is, you soon will!