Rating: 
Summary: Particularly funny if you have a juvenile sense of humor...
Review: Coming from the dot.com graveyard myself, I finally got around to reading this this weekend. It's really funny. I mean, I laughed out loud at least ten times.Disclaimer: I am really immature. You know, not stupid - just like to laugh at doodoo jokes and clever twists on words that begin with f**k. One of my favorites in the book, where Pud is discussing a failed CEO - "That f**kroast sure had it coming." Pud is very self-deprecating. And he's very right on with his observations of all sorts of failed startups. Sure, hindsight is 20/20, and every manner of periodical has already addressed the complete absurdity that took place during this amazing period of time. But Pud has a special place in my and other dot.commer's hearts - we (sometimes gleefully) read his website faithfully every single morning; just wondering when our own time would come. Every generation needs it's hero. Pud was in the right place at the right time; and he's so loveable, you gotta give the guy kudos. A very funny read (for everyone under 35, and in some way directly connected to the tech industry). Rock on, Pud.
Rating: 
Summary: If you want a GREAT read...
Review: Buy a tofu cookbook, a plastic infant teething book (you know, the kind with the squeaky pages), or hey - a phone book... it's free, and much more interesting. I took this book into the bathroom at my local chain bookstore (begins with a B) when I had an emergency. And can you believe it, the bathroom was out of paper! Fortunately, I had this book with me, and I must say that while the pages had kind of a rough edge to them, if you wet them a bit first they make for decent emergency bathroom tissue.
Rating:
Summary: Pithy Look at the "Dot Bomb" Phenomenon
Review: For those who haven't already read it and are fans of Kaplan's web site, you'll probably enjoy this book; I did. For those that think the site is crude, politically incorrect, bombastic, etc. you probably won't. Come to think of it most of the failed dot coms "Pud" talks about were crude and bombastic too. Although some of the philosophies and "business models" with these dot coms are funny as hell. No wonder they all bombed. If there wasn't so much blown money involved, these stories would be funny. Actually some are anyway and it's stupefying to think of all the VC's who invested wads of money to get in on the "next big thing" on the 'Net. And gosh one of the "dot bombs" that Pud mentions briefly (Loudcloud) is one I made the mistake of interviewing at eighteen months ago. Good thing they went into a hiring freeze before they actually hired me. Yes a quick read, and not one that's going to reveal much you didn't know already but still entertaining and a good look at what NOT to do if you're a start-up with the next "great idea for the 'Net."
Rating:
Summary: Agressively Unfunny
Review: Those idiotic dot coms and the Internet bubble as a whole cannot be mocked enough for me but Kaplan really tried my patience with this throwaway book. He is agressively unfunny and seemed more interested in detailing his masterbatory habits to his readers than giving them any kind of information on the companies that he is "profiling." His is an adolescent mind and the book was apparently written for a target audience of 9th graders.
Rating: 
Summary: Limited audience
Review: Pud, as F*edCompany folks will tell you, is a deity, albeit of ill repute. He's boorish, brutal, bombastic, and probably not someone you'd want to sit next to on a plane. But he'd probably be great at a party, and if you take that approach, you might like the book. F*edCompanies is actually a pretty good treatise on the dotcom demise and general hubris of the time, one that doesn't tax your intellect too much, (and insults it a good bit of the time). I've never found Pud particularly funny, but he can be insightful more often than you'd think. Here he's written a book that you may not keep on your permanent bookshelf, but is worth a read.
Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining and educational
Review: This book is a virtual almanac of internet companies, their business plans, why their business plan wouldn't work, how much money they were 'given' by investors, and how quickly they spent all of it. Not too mention the number of employees they hired and then later laid off. Approx. each page of this book is a short story of an internet company. It's extremely educational and it's written in a George Carlinesque type of language, which makes it very funny and quite the page turner. I only wish there were more companies in the book. I think he covers around 180 dot com fiascos, but there were several I could think of that weren't even mentioned. Still, what an eye-opening experience it is to read the truth about the internet insanity that occurred.
Rating:
Summary: Righteous
Review: What an excellent book ! Kaplan is funny and entertaining and has a brilliant way of looking at things. His writing style is clever and I was laughing out load so much reading this book that I had to stop reading it on the bus. I know it is very much after the fact but when Kaplan points out how bad some of these ideas were you realize how much everyone was taken in by the whole internet buzz. Brilliant.
Rating:
Summary: Its good, IF you like F'dcompany.com
Review: Alright, those of you who aren't fans of f'dcompany.com I can understand your feelings about the book.. it is after all a "little" bit crass. But seriously I read the website often and after hearing all the bad press about the book, I had to read it for myself. Surprisingly, I like it! For starters Pud does not change his tone for the book, he's crass on the site and he's crass on the book which to me, is honest. But mostly, I don't think he just regurgitates whats on the site.. he groups them into different segments and offers his views on why he thinks they went out of business PLUS he includes the amount of money blown for each f'd company. So alright, its a rehash, but hey, you can get all of this in a nice, fun to read (in a Pud's way) digest without having to read through all the Joe Wang, ESC**W.com, racist, derogatory spam messages posted by some of the readers :) My buddy likes to think "big ideas".. all the time, and I'm going to buy him this book as a gift and tell him, next time before he goes and claims discovery of the next "killer app", to see if its already in this book.. and if not, I'll listen to him ;) Seriously, if you enjoy the site, you'll enjoy the book. I did.
Rating:
Summary: Avoid this book.
Review: Nothing here you did'nt already know.It's also written in an irritating style.The writer obviously has spent time in the dotcom world but has still remained clueless.There are other books more enlightening and well written.I suggest you purchase any number of the alternatives.
Rating:
Summary: The irony of leeching one more dollar from [people]...
Review: It's a bad book. It's a really bad book... I think it's interesting to note that Phil Kaplan neglects to mention that he tried desperately to capitalize on the Internet craze on his own website. He tried to sell F'd Company Hot Sauce (really, actual hot sauce, explain the insight there) and custom porn... and ads and subscriptions and so on... And now, he attempts to reach into your wallet with this... book. Were you alive over the last few years? Then, unless you're a cave-[dweller], you've seen everything Kaplan retypes from the headlines more times than was necessary then... Yeah, it's a great deal for... whatever it's going for now. Want to read a book? Here's my advice... pick something... far more interesting, you'll impress more people when you talk about it, and your mind will thank you for the entertainment instead of punishing you for wasting its time. [Heck], read anything... just don't waste the tree that died to print this annoying [book].
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