High Stakes, No Prisoners: A Winner's Tale of Greed and Glory in the Internet Wars
- ISBN-10
- 0812931432
- ISBN-13
- 9780812931433
- Category
- Business & Economics / General
- Pages
- 392
- Language
- English
- Published
- 1999
- Publisher
- Times Business
- Author
- Charles H. Ferguson
Description
High Stakes, No Prisoners is a sharp, brilliant insider's account of the way Silicon Valley really works: the sharks, powerful incumbents, and old-boy networks who play hardball all the time and the geniuses who make the products that have changed the world.
Charles Ferguson started Vermeer Technologies and turned his very cool, very big idea into FrontPage, the first software product for creating and managing a website. A mere twenty months after starting the company, he sold it to Microsoft for $133 million, making a fortune for himself and his associates. FrontPage now has millions of users and is bundled with Microsoft Office. But getting there wasn't always fun.
High Stakes, No Prisoners is the book about the Valley and reflects Ferguson's unique experience not only as a successful entrepreneur but also as a policy analyst, computer industry consultant, and academic.
Reveals A Great Internet Success Story
High Stakes, No Prisoners is a highly personal account of what it really takes to win as a high-technology startup, especially in the Internet industry, where any speed below warp nine doesn't get you to takeoff. From securing venture capital to getting both the strategy and the technology right, from dealing with Microsoft's power to working with some of the quirkiest, smartest people on the planet, it's all here. The Valley story has never been told with this much depth and honesty.
Reports from the Trenches of the Internet Wars Vermeer was right in the middle of the battle between Microsoft and Netscape. Both companies wanted to either acquire Vermeer or kill it.
Skewers the Sacred Cows of the Valley
Yes, Microsoft declared war on Netscape, butthe latter's demise was caused as much by itself as by Microsoft. Ferguson, for example, sees Jim Barksdale, the former CEO of Netscape, as arrogant, ignorant about technology, distracted by politics and glamour, and running a company in partnership with a twenty-three-year-old who'd never held a serious job before." Here's Netscape as it has never before been revealed.
Explains the Real Problem with Microsoft Microsoft's business model is unquestionably one of the great creations of American business. But its power has become so great, its behavior so unrestrained, and its abuses so dangerous that intelligent action has to be taken. Ferguson's analysis of what must be done is a major contribution to one of the most important public-policy questions of our time.
Silicon Valley is the crown jewel of the American economy and a critical driver of American technology. It's electric, addictive, vulgar, full of brilliance, brutally fair and brutally unfair, fiercely competitive, often dishonest, tremendously exciting, and utterly unique.With High Stakes, No Prisoners, the real story has finally been told--with frankness, insight, and great wit.
Get the book
Other editions
Similar books
-
The Broadband Problem: Anatomy of a Market Failure and a Policy Dilemma
By Charles H. FergusonThe broadband problem is holding us back, and thus must be addressed and solved. With this important volume, Charles Ferguson has contributed mightily to that mission.
-
Prisoner: My 544 Days in an Iranian Prison--Solitary Confinement, a Sham Trial, High-Stakes Diplomacy, and the Extraordinary Efforts It Took...
By Jason RezaianIn Prisoner, Rezaian writes of his exhausting interrogations and farcical trial.
-
The VC Way: Investment Secrets from the Wizards of Venture Capital
By Jeffrey ZygmontSoftMed is the brainchild of CEO Donald Segal, who developed hospital software for managing patient records. Like Moores's creation of BMC, Segal's story is an old-style, from-the-bootstraps, office-in-the-basement account of ...
-
Corporate Cunning: A Thriller
By John LuciewHigh Stakes.
-
Bend, Not Break: A Life in Two Worlds
By Ping Fu, MeiMei FoBorn on the eve of China’s Cultural Revolution, Ping Fu was separated from her family at the age of eight.
-
Corporate Treason: A Thriller
By John LuciewMeanwhile, a trusted confidant could be playing both ends against the middle, with an eye on unseating Amanda from her corporate throne.Still, the biggest hit is the one no one sees coming.The ending of this book won't just change Amanda's ...
-
Working in Silicon Valley: Economic and Legal Analysis of a High-velocity Labor Market
By Alan Hyde... [no longer available]. Feinstein, Jonathan S., and Jeremy Stein. 1988. “Employee Opportunism and Redundancy in Firms.” Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization 10:401-14. Ferguson, Charles H. 1999. High Stakes, No Prisoners: A ...
-
Internet Publishing and Beyond: The Economics of Digital Information and Intellectual Property
By Hal R. Varian, Brian KahinNew models for distributing, sharing, linking, and marketing information are appearing.
-
One Bad Day After Another
By Max FolsomThey sift through a maze of conflicting evidence, numerous dead ends, and frightening danger to bring those responsible to justice. ONE BAD DAY AFTER ANOTHER is a book for crime and mystery enthusiasts.
-
ENGINES THAT MOVE MARKETS: FULLY REVISED & UPDATED 2ND EDITION
By Alasdair NairnThrough exhaustive research, Alasdair Nairn captures this pattern and examines the impact that some of the greatest technological inventions of the past 200 years have had on financial markets and investors' fortunes.