Kaplan, the intrepid founder of a company that was devoted, in every sense of the word, to a new kind of computer, chronicles his hazardous adventures in darkest Silicon Valley. The pen may be mightier than the sword, but will it beat a computer keyboard? Starting with the notion that a penpoint, rather than a keyboard, is the way to bring zillions of new users to computers, Kaplan (who was trained in computational linguistics) brings us along for the startup of a corporation called GO, which intended to develop a new breed of hand-held computer. We go along with the increasingly byzantine business contortions needed to attract regular infusions of capital. Upwards of $75 million was spent. The product never sold. The venture capitalists who supplied much of the money were not a bad bunch, but the business partners (including biggies like AT&T and IBM) exercised their inherent rights, too, and many of the rights were conflicting. Lenders squeezed, suppliers defaulted. Mitchell Kapor of Lotus was skittish, John Sculley of Apple was fractious, and Bill Gates of Microsoft was intractable. Of course, as the odds would have it, GO stopped. The structure that Kaplan built, with his gang of dedicated young colleagues, finally imploded for a number of reasons. Foremost, surely: Nobody really wanted a portable computer driven by handwriting; that, and being beset by the big boys. ``The good news,'' said one participant, ``is that we have Microsoft on the run. The bad news is that they're running in our direction.'' For the industry, it's not an unusual tale, but Kaplan tells it with novelistic style replete with races against the clock and sharp character sketches. There are human touches, like the death of the author's father and his too-cute marriage proposal (using a computer, of course). An insider's well-written story of the death of a new machine, probably composed on a keyboard. (8 pages b&w photos, not seen)
Pub Date: May 3, 1995
ISBN: 0-395-71133-9
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1995
BOOK REVIEW
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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