$24.95
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Hardcover
642 pages
ISBN 9780977464609 Published March 2006
Evslin Consulting
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Posted April 10, 2006 5:39 a.m. by jack
hackoff.com: An Historic Murder Mystery Set in the Internet Bubble and Rubble by Tom Evslin, dotHill Press, 633 Pages, $24.95 Hardcover, March 2006, ISBN 0977464601
For the past three months, a galley of this self-published book has been within my reach at home and at the office. That's unusual because (A) I seldom wait that long to decide whether I am going to do a JCS on a book and (B) the book features a murder, swear words and a few bedroom scenes. Plus, at 500 plus pages, it tips the scales at over two pounds (yes, I weighed it).
Author Tom Evslin actually created a faux company website. He has used the blogosphere so extensively that he calls the book a blookas in blog and book.
What's the blook about? As Evslin states on his website:
Fictional CEO Larry Lazard served time in prison for hacking through bank security systems and liberating credit card numbers. He parleyed this conviction into an online security consulting business which became hackoff.com.Larry takes his company public. Its stock price soars and collapses. Following a hostile takeover attempt, Lazard is found dead in his office.
Larry Lazard is like many of the high-profile CEOs always depicted in the media--self-absorbed, sure of himself and more than a little crazy. The supporting players are drawn out of people we either know or have read about in the papers.
If you read Evslin's bio, you'll discover that this truly is an insider's look into the Internet bubble; Evslin really has "been there and done that". My favorite parts of the book were the descriptions of the IPO road show and the interviews with investment bankers. Real fly on the wall stuff.
If you're still not sure whether you'll enjoy this book, check it out online. Evslin literally gives away the book as a web version of a test drive. Read it before you buy it.
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hackoff.com
Posted Jan. 16, 2006 5:20 a.m. by jack
In Jack's Thoughts - 800 CEO Read Blog
I am currently reading a book that I am not sure will be reviewed as a Jack Covert Selects because the book is actually a murder mystery with a business favor. But I like the book a ton, in more ways than one. For one, the bloody thing weighs a ton, OK actually 2 lbs. But it feels like a ton considering I have been carrying it back and forth to home in work for the past two weeks. That is very unusual for me because I seldom take business books home. The book is also very unique because of its marketing plan. The author is giving the book away on the web. He has almost as many blogs as we do. His main blog is now one of my morning reads. He is also not interested in having the book published by a mainstream publisher. He has a special offer for a signed book when it is published in March.
hackoff.com is about an entrepreneur who is a real character, he was arrested in the early 90s for hacking into banks' computers to show their vulnerability. After being released from jail, he started a consulting company and then created a company called Hackoff.com in 1996 which went public during the go-go years. He is found dead in his office in 2003. The book is the story of the IPO and his life from a paper billionaire until the collapse of the bubble. If you are interested in a long, well written, fly-on-the-wall view of the growth and decline of a business with some remarkable characters, this book is for you.
