Kait

Jobs are about money, right? You're exhorted to “follow your dreams” or “do what you love,” but ultimately rent has to be paid and pizza eaten (and delivery persons paid), so ... I do a thing for you, you give me money. It's communication and interaction at its most base level, a pure financial transaction. Obviously, if you can find a way to tie meaningful employment with your inner peace and contentment, so much the better. And sure, once the cashflow establishes a certain level of stasis [eating Ramen because you want to, not because you have to], you can start to consider a lateral move for more fulfilling work, but there'a almost always a financial floor below which you dare not go.

So it's as difficult as ever to read about Ivy League graduates griping about the torturous hours they endure in the introduction to their [self-selected] professions as bankers, money-changers and Masters of the Universe. We learn all about how they have to work a lot — on the weekends, late nights, early mornings, pretty much any time electricity is available on the island of Manhattan. They don't like it! [ Duh. ] But they (for the most part) continue to do it! [ Also duh. ] That's the incentive provided by a minimum $60K salary + $20K bonus if they're thought to be bad at their job.

For the full review, please click here.

Wandering around on the desert plains of Facts, this book desperately requires the oasis of an editor in order to survive. Cringely knows his stuff when it comes to IBM, but the book is written with the assumption the reader knows as much as the author - oftentimes things were referenced obliquely, hinted toward in a further chapter or just missing context entirely. I feel that If I were a regular reader of Cringely's blog (as well as well-versed in IBMemera such as the memoirs of former CEOs), the analysis would fit in quite nicely - but then, were I a dedicated reader I wouldn't need the entire last half of the book, which are literally just edited reader comments from various blog posts.

Essentially, the work suffers from a failure of narrative cohesion that leaves the story patchy. This is probably a decent primer to get soundbite-esque gobbits about the current state of IBM, but don't expect much.

This is a land development Ph.D thesis. If you're interested in the regulatory and legal challenges of building an amusement park, enter through the book's gates with a joyous heart to your own Happiest Place on Earth. If you're looking for any information on Disney, Disney World or the actual engineering/Imagineering/design/philosophy/anything of amusement parks, get a ticket for a different ride.