The Last Best Thing: A Classic Tale of Greed, Deception, and Mayhem in Silicon Valley

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J.P. McCorwin always had a concept whether he had a company or not. When he was head of product development for Infinity Computer, the Valley's tabernacle of technological theology and digitized human potential, McCorwln was always hanging out past the leading edge. He designed machines "to change the world," or at least that's what the ads said. What was always clear was that every one of his machines was intended to be the very latest next best thing. Now J.P. is on his own and determined to change the world ...
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1996-10-21 Hardcover First Edition New 0684836149 HARDCOVER, STORE DISPLAY ITEM, UNREAD NEW, NICE, CLEAN & COMPLETE PAGES & COVER.

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New York 1996 Hardcover First Edition; First Printing New in New dust jacket 0684836149. Unmarked book, no remainder marks; 1.25 x 10 x 5.75 Inches; 352 pages.

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1996-10-21 Hardcover First Edition New in Like New jacket PERFECT! ! Brand New condition first edition, first printing hardcover book. We have added a mylar cover to the very ... cool illustrated dustjacket to make it even nicer. MendoPower Employment Services will immediately and carefully pack this book in high-quality bubble lined, envelopes. Then we send you a confirmation e-mail. We appreciate your business and welcome any questions. Read more Show Less

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NEW YORK 1996 Hard cover First edition. FIRST PRINTING New in new dust jacket. DUST JACKET IS PROTECTED IN MYLAR COVER. 350 p.; 9.63" x 1.17" x 5.89".

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More About This Book

Overview

J.P. McCorwin always had a concept whether he had a company or not. When he was head of product development for Infinity Computer, the Valley's tabernacle of technological theology and digitized human potential, McCorwln was always hanging out past the leading edge. He designed machines "to change the world," or at least that's what the ads said. What was always clear was that every one of his machines was intended to be the very latest next best thing. Now J.P. is on his own and determined to change the world one last time. He plans to start a company, create the last best thing, collect his millions, pass Go and be gone for good. But first, he and his team have to figure out how to make Infinity's latest laptop computer stop blowing up and decide whether they're really going to create the last best thing and get their well-deserved riches or just fake it so well that the money comes anyway. And that's not all that needs figuring out. Brad, the marketing maven, and Maria, J.P.'s executive assistant who can still remember when the Valley was all farmland, want to know just who RoseD, the online sex goddess, is, and where Robert the geek got his supercooled superchip and why he's walking around with it in his glasses. And everyone wants to know whether or not it matters if your computer knows when you're lying to it.
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Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly
Lampooning the excesses and eccentricities of Silicon Valley's hi-tech moguls with up-to-the-minute detail, this tale of deception, greed, revenge, Internet hype and vaporware was serialized in the San Jose Mercury News and on an interactive site on the World Wide Web. It chronicles the chaotic rise of a new start-up company where, ironically, the only honest executives are in marketing. Maria Cisneros, who spruced up Intel's corporate image in earlier days and handled another successful IPO, is just as seduced by charismatic CEO J.P. McCorwin's maverick personality and visionary proclamations as are his spellbound investors when she joins the enterprise. Brad Roth, fired by Microsoft, is too desperate to be choosy. Both of them are in for a turbulent ride as they struggle to do their jobs without figuring out what it is this bewilderingly New Age operation and its massive R&D deployment are actually trying to create. Brad is drawn into an online affair with the mysterious "Rose D"only to have one of the company's problematic laptops explode in his hands during a passionate exchange. Maria becomes embroiled with FBI investigators when someone sends an e-mail from her account suggesting Bill Gates as a Unabomber suspect. The novel's wacky twists and turns probably played out better in serial publication. Taken as a whole, the deliberately silly plot becomes tiresome and the characters unconvincing. Still, Dillon's trenchant depictions of high-tech playersboth real and fictionaland their world are the attractions here, and they are entertaining and dead-on. (Oct.)
Library Journal
Dillon's first novel is a timely and entertaining look at Silicon Valley and its high-pressure, high-powered antics. The novel originally appeared in serial form on the World Wide Web and in the San Jose Mercury News. For those interested in computers and the Internet, this book is a fast-flowing, hard-to-put-down take on the quest for "the last best thing" in the technological revolution. We are introduced to a cast of characters who, for varying reasons, buy into the ideas of J.P. McCorwin, who endeavors to start a company to create the best computer application that the industry has ever seen. Dillon has crafted a tale of crazed greed, lust, and ambition that will be in demand in public library collections.Patricia Curthoys, Chautaugua-Cattaraugus Lib. System, Jamestown, N.Y.
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780684836140
  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster
  • Publication date: 10/21/1996
  • Pages: 352
  • Product dimensions: 5.89 (w) x 9.63 (h) x 1.17 (d)

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