The New New Thing - Michael Lewis > Reviews > An eccentric billionaires mind at work

Author's product rating:   

Degree of Information	Very high
How interesting was the book?	Compelling
How useful was it?	Very useful
Would you read it again?	Absolutely
Value for money	Excellent

Advantages:	Well written insight into the mind of a billionaire
Disadvantages:	none

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Best-selling author Michael Lewis sets out to find the worlds most important technology entrepreneur, the man who embodies the spirit of the coming age. He finds him in Jim Clark, who is about to create his third billion dollar company, Healtheon. After already successfully navigating his two other companies to entrepreneurial stardom, Silicon Graphics and Netscape, he sets out to create a shake up in the American health care system. Although One would think, that Jim Clark was more interested in building the biggest sailing vessel on the planet. His near obsession with his yacht, Hyperion has him in trouble more than a few times as his willingness to spend hours on creating computer programs to run this vessel leads him to entrust the running and the building of the concept which is Healtheon.

This story is basically the building of Healtheon and is seen through the eyes of Michael Lewis who was Jim Clarks sidekick for months in order to track Clarks every move.

Lewis writes in an articulated fashion and is very candid and objective about his subject. he writes from the business viewpoint as well as the human and shows how the two do not go hand in hand. To be in the business world at such a high level on the pecking order needs a human to turn inhuman, yet this does not shine through in the character of Jim Clark. He is the 'creator of concepts' and was no longer interested in the logistics of building up companies, he could pay highly talented technogeeks to do this for him.

This book is excellent if you want to get in the mind of an eccentric billionaire whose disregard for the rules of the financialdom and the way a business should be run leaves you feeling aghast, and will have you scratching your head. Jim Clark is an anomaly and an inspiration for the anarchists of business.