Rating: 
Summary: Good, but...
Review: A collection of stories from people in the industry who didn't make it in the "new economy". These are the people who work 80+ hours a week for little recognition or benefits, and then get fired/burned out. While these stories are true and I'm sure these situations exist, I had a hard time relating to them. They almost seemed too "perfect" in their horribleness...
Rating:
Summary: Good, but...
Review: A collection of stories from people in the industry who didn't make it in the "new economy". These are the people who work 80+ hours a week for little recognition or benefits, and then get fired/burned out. While these stories are true and I'm sure these situations exist, I had a hard time relating to them. They almost seemed too "perfect" in their horribleness...
Rating: 
Summary: Not bad but a bit dated...
Review: As someone who's worked in the dot.com industry,I can't help but sympathize with the authors. However,someone made a good point in an earlier review:these guys,like myself,were willing participants. Promises of fat IPOs,100% turnover on ROIs and constant flow of fresh content/product are almost always a bad sign of any dot.com startup. At the time,it seemed like an inpenetrable plan. But when my boss started doling out paychecks that were from his personal bank account,suffice it to say I got a bit worried. The book is accurate in alot of ways on the rise and fall of working in the internet biz,but its "inside scoop"becomes dated as we only have to turn on MSNBC to see which dot.com is closing up shop. It's a quick read,does give you insight on the day to day of the biz but "Netslaves"is really just a precursor to what is now de rigeur(sp) in the internet biz.
Rating: 
Summary: A 246 Page "Support Group"
Review: Being an unemployed techie myself, I cannot begin to describe what a godsend this book is. NETSLAVES finally reveals the truth about what it is to be part of what is likely the most under-appreciated sect of the working class. The stale stories of "dorm-room success" have been supplanted by the pathetically sad/darkly humorous accounts of those who have been saddled with with million-dollar job titles, bleeding ulcers, and ramen noodle grocery budgets. NETSLAVES is an entertaining and enligtening read, written by two men who have actually been passengers in every sewer pipe that is The new-media industry. This book is a must for every modern library, as it can be considered a "warning shot" for those with IT aspirations, or as a source of vindication for those of us who have been dismissed and trampled on. Bravo!
Rating:
Summary: Blood, Sweat, and Sore Butts
Review: I don't think I've ever read a book like this before - it's sort of like "Pulp Fiction Meets The Net" with shades of "True Confessions" mixed in. This is a quick read, and I've already passed it on to a family member who still harbors the belief that working in the "dot.com" field is a good career choice. I don't know if I'd go quite so far as to say that most Net careers "nasty, brutish, and short", as the authors do, but I do think it's about time that people start looking beyond the hype toward what life in the info-trenches actually entails, and this book is an excellent alternative to all the dot-com glamorizing and boosterism that's out there. Very funny, too - it helps the bitter cautionary medicine go down.
Rating: 
Summary: A little dissappointing
Review: I really thought the cover and theme promised a little more than the book delivered. They change the names of companies involved but give descriptions which narrow the possibilities, often to only one company. Perhaps they pulled some punch because of this. Would have liked more quick, punchy stories instead of longer sparser ones. Takes on a new resonance now that the bloom is off the internet rose.
Rating:
Summary: By the media, for the masses
Review: NETSLAVES is a quick, easy read, but one that leaves you unsatisfied and feeling vaguely dirty. NETSLAVES rants about the evils of post-Internet America, in particular, the parody of corporate America created by the now-dead-and-dying dot-coms. The authors want you to believe that every employee, every worker, and indeed, every member, of the dot-com "revolution" was and is a burned-out shell, overwrought by the realities of working in Internet time and reduced to a husk before reaching ephiphany by extricating themselves (or being forcibly ejected) from the game. NETSLAVES falls far short as a work of exposure, and farther still as an insightful look into the lives of technical workers. The authors are media folk. They write magazines and spout pithy commentary for a living. NETSLAVES is little more than an extension of the columns these men create daily. The stories are easy reading, but as meaningless and without substance as cotton candy melting in your mouth; you'll find plenty of horror, but no examination of why it exists. There is no discussion of the WHY in this book, no glimmer of insight that shows the authors to possess more than the merest hope of understanding, nothing to illuminate the wild world of the dot-com. It's just a bunch of clever stories. The people in these stories are not slaves to the 'net, they are people with real problems and issues that exist outside of their work. The proximity to technology has nothing to do with it. The authors have accumulated little more than some easy reading, fictionalized "true-tales" to throw to the masses. Unless you fall into this target audience, avoid this. It's a source of more irritation than enjoyment.
Rating:
Summary: Some moments, basically fluffy
Review: NetSlaves is fun to read and there are stories both funny and sad. Utimately, it is mostly a pathetic rant against corporate life. I am not certain what the point is but it seems like the laments of people playing the role of victim. This is not the 21 century 'Grapes of Wrath' so these comparisons are silly. With all of that said, the last story about the inner-city kid is very touching.
Rating:
Summary: These guys are nuts, and that's great!
Review: Oh yeah! From reading Netslaves it's easy to tell that these guys have been on the front lines of the new media wars for a long, long time. Not in the Generals' tents, but out where the layoff bullets fly and talented employees are more often rewarded by watching their kiss-ass co-workers get promoted over their heads than by anything else. If you are in, or want to get into, the fast-paced Internet go-go economy, you must read this book. No, you're not the only one who has found (or will find) that the pot of gold at the end of the Internet rainbow has already been emptied by investment bankers and other leeches, and that your share is just big enough to rent a studio apartmen, pay your ISP bills, and buy takeout pan pizzas every few days. I create Web site content for a living, so I live what these guys write, and dammit, I still love my work as much as ever despite the fact that doing the scut work behind the Internet is just as horrid as Steve and Bill say it is. As the late songwriter and newspaper humorist Sylvia Miller put it, "If misery loves company, then you're the one for me. You like to cry into your beer, wine always makes me shed a tear."
Rating:
Summary: The Electronic Sweatshop
Review: The stories in this book are from "real people who work at real Internet companies". Names have been changed, and some are composite characters. The stories try to give the reality behind the job descriptions. They want to demystify the jargon, and describe the caste system of Internet business. This is not too different from a white-collar factory of office workers IMO. There may be more open antagonism though (pp. 31-32). I once heard that you should never be late for a meeting since the others would gossip about you. The story about "Jane" on page 96 confirms this, and shows she didn't understand "office politics". Is golf the rich-guy equivalent of bowling (p.102)? A way to create back-channel links and friendships?
One warning is that long hours results in lower pay (p.136). Another warning is about using your own money to create a product for a company (Chapter 7.3). The story in Chapter 8.3 reminds me of a motivational speaker who spoke of Free Enterprise, but was a tenured professor at a state college! The story in Chapter 9.3 shows how wear and aging combine against the best intentions. Burnout from pride and arrogance? That's only human! The 'Afterword' suggests this book of anecdotes may serve as a snapshot of people and cultural values, rather than a quickly discarded artifact.
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