Publishers Weekly
12/24/2018
Critic and journalist Smith (Moondust) takes a deep dive into the hubris, optimism, and creativity of the dot-com boom-and-bust with an overlong and unfocused profile of an early web impresario, Josh Harris. Harris’s Pseudo.com, founded in 1993 and one of the first startups in New York City’s “Silicon Alley,” was ostensibly conceived as an incubator for content of all stripes. And had it been run capably, it could have been—Harris’s grasp of the need for unique content was indeed prescient. But in reality, Pseudo was more chaotic bacchanal than business. Drug-fueled parties and Harris’s own increasingly bizarre behavior (such as repeatedly coming to work dressed as a clown) were the norm, while banks and investors were too eager to get in on expected riches to look closely or ask enough questions. Smith charts the all-too-familiar arc of an unsustainable economic bubble broadly and often obliquely, with numerous digressions (such as into Alan Greenspan’s role in the dot-com boom), while major parts of Harris’s story, such as his relationship with his girlfriend, with whom he performed a much-publicized media stunt of living under 24-hour public surveillance, receive little payoff. Smith’s initially promising chronicle resembles, finally, a long-form magazine article that’s been stretched into a book. Agent: Emma Parry, Janklow & Nesbit. (Feb.)
From the Publisher
Praise for Totally Wired:
“Raucous, whimsical, sad and very funny…Totally Wired is a fascinating account of what could have been, what briefly was, what almost lasted.” —Wall Street Journal
“Told with verve and style…A valuable history for tech heads, entrepreneurs, and trend watchers alike.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Exhilarating…Totally Wired examines just how thin the line is between brilliance and madness.” —Shelf Awareness
"A brilliant exploration of madness and genius in the early days of the web"—Guardian
"Dark and compelling. The counter culture tremor from which the social media earthquake erupted"—Daily Mail
"The Social Network meets Hammer of the Gods via Warhol's Factory"—Independent
"Effervescent and vivid...this is a book whose time has come."—Sunday Times
"Fascinating...a slice of life never to be repeated...the first incarnation of the internet of the 1990s."—Observer
Praise for Moondust:
“Moondust is an inspired idea, immaculately executed: witty, affectionate, completely captivating.” —WORD magazine
“Highly entertaining…[Smith’s] superb book is a fitting tribute to a unique band of 20th-century heroes.” —GQ
“[A] fascinating book… [Smith’s] humour is underpinned by a sense of extreme danger.” —Mail on Sunday, Book of the Week
“A rich mix of cultural history, reportage and personal reflection.” —Evening Standard
“Forget flower power, the Beatles and Beach Boys…what made the 1960s an unforgettable decade was the conquest of space.” —Guardian, Best Books of the Season
“A crisply dramatic account.” —Sunday Telegraph
“An extraordinary book…as profoundly as any work of philosophy.” —Uncut
“Splendid!” —Arthur C. Clarke, author of 2001: A Space Odyssey
“Fascinating…We know what happened inside the Apollo, but what went on inside the astronauts’ minds? Extremely thought-provoking.” —J. G. Ballard, author of Empire of the Sun and Memories of the Space Age
Library Journal
02/01/2019
Smith (Moondust: In Search of the Men Who Fell to Earth) chronicles the career of Josh Harris and the dotcom boom and bust of 1990s New York City. The book represents four years of original research, including many meetings and interviews with Harris. It's clear that much work has gone into this volume, but like the monies that were funneled into many failed dotcom businesses, readers may wonder what the point of it all is. For historians of New York, the imagery of the setting is enjoyable and perhaps illuminating. However, Harris, although a fascinating character, is an unsympathetic protagonist, and reading about his life is at times quite tedious. In some ways this work is similar to Walter Isaacson's Steve Jobs, although Harris is arguably a more sympathetic subject than Jobs. VERDICT For readers who enjoy biographical studies related to Internet history, this will be enjoyable. For those who find aspects of startup culture tiresome, so, too, will be this book, well-written as it is.—Esther Jackson, New York Botanical Garden