4/10

This could have been an outstanding podcast. It was very episodic in nature, yet neatly tied together by a theme that permeated the entire book. Essentially, the theme was that in the early days, the internet was like the wild west, and young people were the only ones with the flexibility to understand how to best capitalize on it.

Obviously, this is a somewhat dated perspective. However, the stories are still entertaining, even if it's improbable that Lewis's overall point is completely on the mark. So, I suppose that's my overall take on the book. It contains a few interesting tales, and Lewis's writing is always engaging and enlightening.

Nevertheless, most of it is hopelessly trapped in time. In hindsight, the perspectives and concerns seem rather silly, especially the part about Tivo, which I found unintentionally humorous. It starts out as a solid idea - "how did the internet change the economy" - but ultimately devolves into a couple of stories only roughly related to that topic.

I like Lewis as an author, but that doesn't necessarily make this a great book.

Lewis's opinion on the outsider/insider relationship was moderately interesting, particularly as a means of understanding capitalism. He views the outsider as someone who challenges the system until the system offers them a lucrative enough job to transform them into an insider.

I always have a great enjoyment for Michael Lewis's works.

This particular piece delved into the concept of how what lies ahead in the future is unearthed and developed by those who are outsiders. These individuals rebel against the existing status quo and strive to create something that challenges the establishment.

However, what often occurs is that once the rebel gains some traction, the establishment throws a significant amount of money their way.

As soon as the rebel accepts this financial offer, they essentially become part of the very establishment they once rebelled against.

Consequently, a new rebel must then emerge to continue the cycle of challenging and innovating.

The book explored several such past rebels and their stories.

I found it to be quite interesting, although I must admit that I also have a strange penchant for doing taxes. Go figure!

The best part of this book is undoubtedly the first story regarding Jonathan Lebed. He was a teenager who was investigated by the SEC for amassing $800,000, in part, by promoting penny stocks online. This initial story truly captured my attention and set a high standard.

Regrettably, the remainder of the book failed to meet the level established by that first narrative. The author, in his afterword, essentially acknowledges the book's shortcomings. Amidst some rather awkward jokes about 9/11, he states:

"It's too early to determine whether the stories in this book encapsulate the general trend of American capitalism and democracy or are merely unique cases of human perversion, exploited by a writer in search of material.... I never managed to find a way to incorporate the book's arguments... into a unified narrative.... I still believe there wasn't much I could have done to address this issue; and the reader suffers as a result. Another aspect I dislike is the way the subject pulled its author into the questionable territory of futurology."

This admission by the author makes one wonder if more could have been done to improve the overall quality and coherence of the book.

Really disappointing since I like the author.

It is truly a letdown considering how much I have admired the author. I had such high expectations, but unfortunately, this particular work failed to meet them.

Perhaps it was the plot that didn't quite grip me, or maybe the characters didn't seem as developed as I had hoped.

Whatever the reason, it's a shame because I know the author is capable of so much more.

I still have faith in the author's abilities and will look forward to future works, hoping that they will once again capture my imagination and leave me truly satisfied.

Until then, I'll have to try to overlook this disappointment and remember the great things the author has done in the past.

Maybe with time, I'll be able to look back on this work with a more objective eye and find something to appreciate.

But for now, it remains a source of disappointment for this dedicated fan.

One might assume that a perspective on the disruptive power of the internet from around 2000-01 would be outdated by now. However, the stories that Michael Lewis emphasizes on this subject are not what one would anticipate. There are no typical "kids in a garage" accounts of the ascent of the Googles in the world. Instead, he discovers tales that exemplify the disruption of social order norms. For instance, a teenager utilized his legal knowledge, acquired from watching Law & Order episodes, to become the most highly-reviewed commentator on a professional legal Q&A forum. My personal favorite was the kid from New Jersey who earned $800,000 between the ages of 12-14 by promoting penny stocks on Yahoo! finance forums. Essentially, he was doing the same thing that professional Wall Street analysts were doing for tech stocks at that time, until the SEC took notice and attempted to shut him down.

I believe that 3.5 stars would be an appropriate rating for Next. It is an excellent and quick read. Nevertheless, the high point occurs with the first story, and each of the subsequent three stories is somewhat less engaging than the previous one. The last story is rather dull.

Future is Happening


This article offers thought-provoking, insightful, and real-world thinking and reporting. As always, Michael Lewis is extremely accurate in his interviewing and then in putting his thoughts onto paper. The content truly makes one stop and think about the current state of affairs and the direction in which society is headed. I would suggest changing the title to something like "The Future is Happening Now" to better capture the essence of the message. The statement "Young adults by the thousands are ready to insert their magic into society as we speak" is a powerful one. It implies that there is a new generation emerging with fresh ideas and a desire to make a positive impact. This generation has the potential to bring about significant change and innovation. We should pay attention to their voices and ideas as they will shape the future.

Michael Lewis has taken an off-track turn with this book.

Going from writing about finance to writing about the internet is a significant departure.

However, he has managed to do it quite well.

While it may not be considered one of his absolute best books ever, it is definitely a decent read.

The book offers unique insights into the world of the internet, exploring its various aspects and the impact it has had on society.

Lewis' writing style, which is known for its engaging and accessible nature, makes the book an enjoyable read for both those familiar with the subject matter and those who are new to it.

Overall, it is a worthwhile addition to Michael Lewis' body of work.

OK, so it's a little bit dated.

However, in reality, it's not really that dated, especially when compared with things like "The Innovator's Dilemma".

The conclusions presented in it are still timely and relevant.

It's more of a "blast from the past" rather than something that should be tossed into the "yesterday's news" category.

Moreover, it was seriously prescient about trends that have continued to this day.

It's a quick read or listen, and if you have an interest in understanding how successful business decisions are made and where all the most disruptive ideas originate from, it's well worth your time.

You'll find that despite its age, it still holds valuable insights and can offer a unique perspective on the business world.

So don't dismiss it just because it's not the latest and greatest; give it a chance and you might be pleasantly surprised.

I absolutely loved this book.

It was truly a captivating read that held my attention from start to finish. However, when it finally came to an end, I was really disappointed.

Not only did I not want the story to end, but I also didn't fully understand the ending.

It left me with a sense of confusion and longing for more explanation.

One aspect of the book that I really loved was the idea that technology levels the playing field for younger people.

In today's world, technology has had a profound impact on society, and seeing how it has changed the world in the book gave me a better idea of what could potentially happen in the future.

It made me realize the power and potential of technology to bring about positive change and equal opportunities for all.

Overall, despite my disappointment with the ending, I still highly recommend this book for its thought-provoking ideas and engaging storyline.

This book gives the impression that it is more of a hodgepodge of elongated written pieces and interviews rather than a proper, cohesive book.

Moreover, in the year 2019, it seems to me that the majority of these stories lack a significant lesson that can be gleaned from them.

One would expect a book to offer some sort of value or insight, but this one falls short in that regard.

The combination of different writing styles and the lack of a unifying theme make it a bit of a disjointed read.

Perhaps the author intended to present a diverse range of perspectives, but without a clear overarching message, it becomes difficult for the reader to fully engage and take away something of substance.

Overall, while the book may have some interesting individual elements, it fails to come together as a truly impactful and meaningful work.

Keep in mind that this book has to be graded on a curve as it pertains to the internet and was penned around 2000 - 2001. The internet has transformed significantly since then. It's unjust to expect Michael Lewis to cover every aspect and impact of a technology that was evolving rapidly then and continues to do so in unforeseen ways. For his intended purpose, which is to capture the essence of that time and highlight some of the remarkable impacts, he does an excellent job. However, don't read this book with the expectation of understanding the current uses of the internet, internet commerce, ChatGPT, or other contemporary aspects. For instance, it's rather quaint now that he has a section on a rock band thriving due to an email list of 25,000 fans. These days, some kids can amass 100,000 Instagram followers overnight.

The book is highly engaging and fast-paced. I read it while waiting for a flight. I could easily reread it in a few weeks and find it just as enjoyable, likely picking up on more of Lewis's sarcasm and subtleties that I missed in this quick read. His writing style is so smooth that you can't help but read at a rapid pace. He is a master at making complex topics sound like casual dinner conversations. This requires delving deep into a subject and revisiting it multiple times, after absorbing more information and gaining perspective. He is truly adept at seeing the big picture.

Nevertheless, this book has its flaws. It appears to be an analysis of how the internet is transforming major institutions in our lives, such as investing, law, and intellectual property. But it lacks the necessary depth to offer profound insights. It's merely a collection of anecdotes skillfully strung together. Anecdotes are enjoyable to read, but they don't provide the complete picture.

Occasionally, Lewis presents the big picture, and he does it quite well. For example, he uses the words of the first person he profiles, Jonathan Lebed, along with his own phrasing, to explain that Wall Street investing has always favored insiders, and stock analysts are always incentivized to lie on behalf of the corporations that pay their salaries. The internet, following two decades of cable TV investment advice, finally exposed those lies. It demonstrated that the so-called experts are not more accurate than the outsider, less educated masses. Lewis accurately points out the hypocrisy of the Securities and Exchange Commission in the 1990s. They want to stop unauthorized stock pickers, but the truth is they have no valid argument because these individuals are simply stating the facts as they see them, often using public information that the compromised, insider analysts pretend doesn't exist. Lewis does the same in section two when he tracks down a teenager who became a sought-after legal expert despite his "training" in the law coming from Court TV and quick internet searches. Lawyers were furious about his practicing law without a license, but what he was actually doing was applying common sense and sharing a little research, but doing it for free instead of charging $250 per hour.

So, to some extent, the anecdotes allow Lewis to reach the big picture. But I think he goes too far in suggesting that it's all about teenagers taking on roles that adults formerly held. He spends a great deal of time arguing that young teens are the true drivers of internet change because they don't have old habits to break; they simply adopt what's available and improve upon it. On the surface, this seems reasonable. And there are numerous anecdotes to support his thesis, including figures like Edward Snowden, a significant leaker of US surveillance secrets, a decade later. However, there are also tens of thousands of adults working on internet-related matters, and they have achieved remarkable things. The feats accomplished by kids are individually impressive, but they are not the game-changers. And I suspect Lewis is aware of this because he also writes about how these mavericks are co-opted by the establishment, which purchases their expertise for millions (now hundreds of millions) of dollars.

However, I'll give Lewis credit for recognizing the limitations of his approach. He comments on this in an addendum written in 2002, a few months after the 9/11 attack, which he said killed all interest in his book. He admits that he couldn't identify one or two themes to represent his anecdotes and believes that the entire realm of internet technology is evolving too rapidly to categorize. He was correct, just as he was right in predicting that people would likely transition from obtaining their media through TV and then a computer to a faster, enhanced cell phone. Here we are.

Still, the frenzied globe-trotting in the book annoys me a bit. In that regard, it's similar to the business magazines where the author honed his skills profiling the rich and famous. It's the fantasy that lone wolf geniuses, working alone for 20 hours a day, are the key to the future. They're not. They're mostly self-interested, and their goals are often narrow and sometimes malicious. We've witnessed the destructiveness more acutely since Michael Lewis wrote this book, although he was astute enough in the book to be concerned about such issues. I look forward to more of the author's work on cutting-edge technology, business, and culture because he is highly effective at getting to the heart of the matter and finding the right people.

Lewis's work generally showcases the excellent writing and storytelling that we have come to expect from him.

However, it must be noted that the coverage in this particular piece is starting to feel a bit dated. It now reads more like interesting historical vignettes from the "early" days of the internet.

Nonetheless, it does serve as an interesting time capsule, preserving some of the philosophies that prevailed in the early web.

Given my personal background, I find it somewhat difficult to read at present.

But for those who missed out on the early days of the internet, this work is essential as it builds the necessary background for understanding what has ultimately evolved into the social web.

Therefore, it should be considered required reading for such individuals.