Next: The Future Just Happened

I purchased everything Michael Lewis wrote after reading Liar's Poker.

In Next, Lewis, with his unique storyteller's style, vividly shows us how the internet has re-ordered the establishment in numerous aspects of life.

It涵盖了金融和资本市场、专业信息、知识产权、社会规范和观点以及对未来的思考等多个领域。

This book is an easy and extremely thought-provoking read.

Surprisingly, it remains as relevant in 2011 (soon to be 2012) as it was in 2001 when it was first written.

Lewis's incisive analysis and engaging narrative make Next a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the profound impact of the internet on our modern world.

Whether you are a finance professional, an intellectual property lawyer, or simply a curious reader, this book will offer you valuable insights and perspectives.

It is a timely and important work that continues to resonate with readers more than a decade after its initial publication.

Lewis, as is often the case, demonstrates an astonishing degree of prescience.

This book may not be as exquisitely written as Moneyball or Boomerang, the other two works of his that I have perused. However, it remains incredibly captivating.

His economic acumen is truly remarkable, a rarity among journalists who also have a penchant for human interest stories.

When paired with the recent New Yorker article titled "The Virologist", one gains a rather dystopic perspective on the world of youth, money, and the internet.

It offers a unique and thought-provoking look into these interconnected aspects of our modern society, making it a must-read for those interested in understanding the complex dynamics at play.

Despite its flaws in writing compared to his other works, the overall value and intrigue of this book cannot be denied.

It serves as a reminder of Lewis's ability to uncover and present important and often overlooked stories in a way that engages and enlightens the reader.

Whether you are a fan of economics, human nature, or the digital age, this book is sure to offer something of interest.

So, pick it up, give it a read, and prepare to have your eyes opened to a whole new world of ideas and perspectives.

An interesting look at a book about the beginning of the internet going mainstream. It's quite astonishing to note that this book was written way back in 2002. Reading about the first teenager to be charged by the SEC was truly captivating. The story of the teenager who answered law questions on AskMe.Com was equally engaging. Additionally, the invention of TiVo also piqued my interest. Of course, it's inevitable that some parts of the book seem a bit dated now, considering how rapidly the internet has evolved. However, despite this, overall I found the book to be an enjoyable read. It provides a unique perspective on the early days of the internet and how it was starting to make an impact on various aspects of our lives.

5 stars for three stories that truly amazed and brought joy to me. 2 stars for the rest.

The author delved into research and conducted interviews with people, and then crafted several stories, concluding each with some interpretation. Most of these stories are related to the internet and took place over ten years ago. Three of the stories were completely new to me, and I was thoroughly captivated. I found myself laughing out loud while listening to the first two stories, which involved conversations with parents and other adults. This book is definitely worth it for those three stories alone. In hindsight, for me, I would skip the rest.

1. Jonathan Labed started trading the stock market at the tender age of 13. He acquired knowledge about the markets by watching TV and surfing the internet. He bought stocks and then wrote and published his comments about those stocks on the web. As a result, he made a significant amount of money. However, the SEC punished him for actions that brokerage firms and analysts regularly engaged in without facing any consequences. I couldn't help but laugh at the conversations with SEC personnel, Jonathan's parents, his friends, and Jonathan himself. Jonathan seemed far more intellectual and knowledgeable than the adults around him. The chairman of the SEC appeared incompetent as he didn't understand what Jonathan had done and was unable to clearly explain which law Jonathan had broken.

2. Marcus Arnold was only 15 years old. He learned about the law from TV shows like Judge Judy. As a volunteer, he began answering legal questions for people through Ask com (or AskMe com). Based on the number of questions he answered and the favorable votes he received, he became the #1 legal expert on Ask com. When lawyers discovered his age, they started attacking him on the platform. There were several aspects of his story that also made me laugh.

3. In 2000, people were downloading free music through Napster and similar software. There was a great deal of controversy regarding the future of the music industry and which entities would survive in this new landscape. What transpired with the British music group Marillion astonished and delighted me. They had no funds for a tour. Fortunately, there was an online fan club that launched a fundraising campaign. They managed to raise $60,000, enabling the group to embark on a North American tour. Some time later, the group needed 100,000 pounds to produce a record. The recording company showed no interest. Once again, the fans came to the rescue and raised the money for the group. Armed with this financial support, the group approached the recording company and set their own terms regarding rights, royalties, and so on. They successfully made the record. I was truly fascinated by how the fans were willing to pay for the group to carry out these activities.

The other stories in the book were interesting, but not as humorous or captivating. They encompassed topics such as music sharing software, TIVO and Replay TV boxes, TV advertising, marketing surveys, and a clock designed to last 10,000 years.

NARRATOR:
The author narrated his own book. It was acceptable, but I would have preferred if he had used an actor. The author has a southern accent, which was somewhat distracting. It made me focus more on "him" rather than his material. I suppose I'm accustomed to the generic TV anchor-speak that is so prevalent.

DATA:
Unabridged audiobook reading time: 6 hrs. Swearing language: None that I recall. Sexual content: None. Setting: The late 1990s through 2000, in the U.S. and Great Britain. Book copyright: 2001. Genre: Computer industry nonfiction.

Every time I pick up a Michael Lewis book, I find myself completely engrossed, racing through its pages in just a few days. I blithely nod along, agreeing with most of his arguments. However, shortly after finishing, it seems to fade from my mind. I guess this isn't exactly the highest form of praise one could give an author.

This particular work, which delves into the social effects of the Internet (written way back in 2001), presents arguments that are more or less what you might anticipate. The Internet, it contends, has democratized and decentralized various centers of power, knowledge, and wealth, ranging from large corporations to the humble family unit. It's eminently readable, and there's no denying that.

But here's the catch. The book has a tendency to be repetitive. At a length of 240 pages, it often feels as if it could have been condensed to half that size without losing any of its essential points. The section that stands out the most is the one about the 15-year-old stock speculator who was pumping penny stocks on Internet chat rooms. It's truly the most compelling part of the book. In fact, Lewis probably should have just written that section as a magazine feature and scrapped the rest.

Overall, while the book has its interesting moments and valid arguments, it falls short in terms of conciseness and originality. It's a decent read, but not one that will likely leave a lasting impression.

The performance was not bad.

However, it was not his best.

There were moments when he showed flashes of his usual brilliance, but overall, it seemed that he was not quite at his peak.

Perhaps he was having an off day, or maybe there were external factors that were affecting his performance.

Nonetheless, it is important to remember that even the best of the best have their off days.

We should not judge him too harshly based on this one performance.

Instead, we should look at his overall body of work and give him the benefit of the doubt.

After all, he has proven himself time and time again to be a talented and capable individual.

We can only hope that he will bounce back from this and continue to deliver outstanding performances in the future.

I've read that this is a good book, and having thoroughly enjoyed The New New Thing, I thought I'd definitely give it a try. However, upon reading it, I found that it is simply okay.

There are no really keen insights that can truly grab one's attention. Instead, there is too much rambling in an attempt to come to some profound discovery.

The book does mention that technology is working for democracy, breaking down the barriers that previously kept the common man from competing with the protected elite. Now, the elite is no longer safe. Interestingly, the elite includes technology people who are past their prime.

The pace of change is accelerating at an astonishing rate, and this has a significant impact on various aspects of society.

Overall, while the book has some interesting points, it fails to live up to the expectations I had based on my experience with The New New Thing.

An interesting perspective on the progress of technology and the internet in the pre-9/11 2001 era offers some captivating insights.

For example, it delves into the way generational change occurs and how outsiders manage to become insiders.

By Googling the names in the book, one can discover where these individuals are today, and the results prove to be quite interesting.

The book accurately captured many general ideas about what the future might have looked like at that time. It predicted that the internet would lead to a democratization of information and force radical changes in significant portions of the economy.

Moreover, it vividly demonstrates the remarkable amount of change that has taken place within a relatively short span of time. In a book about the internet written 18 years ago, there is no mention of current industry leaders such as Google, Netflix, or Amazon, despite their existence at that time. While the subject and value of peer-to-peer networks are mentioned, social networks are conspicuously absent. Facebook and Myspace were not founded until 2004.

This edition includes an epilogue written in 2002, which references the 9/11 attacks and discusses how they have already influenced the author's writing.