Money from Thin Air: The Story of Craig McCaw, the Visionary who Invented the Cell Phone Industry, and His Next Billion-Dollar Idea
Author: O. Casey Corr
List Price: $25.00
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ISBN: 0812926978
Publisher: Crown Business (13 June, 2000)
Sales Rank: 31,491
Average Customer Rating: 4 out of 5
Customer Reviews
Rating: 5 out of 5
Action packed
Casey Corr is at his best in describing the man and his dreams- Craig McCaw and the world of cellular communications. Starting from a nearly bankrupt inheritance and the problems of his father's business Craig McCaw is superb in strategizing and execution. He quickly consolidates his business in the cable TV segment before venturing into mobile communications. He shows remarkable courage in predicting the growth pattern in each business segment he operates and takes big risks to pump in money to achieve leadership in his area of operation. Reading this book reminds me the story of Jim Clark ("The New New Thing " - by Michael Lewis ) who also follows a similar pattern in his mega plans, moving from one success to another.
It would have been better had the author explained a little more about the concepts of technology in each business outlined, so that it would be easy for a reader without exposure in these areas to understand the real picture and the theme of this book.
If you own a cell phone please read this book. If you don't own one, then this book will ensure that you buy one.May be a few years from now you may get a call from another planet - made possible by McCaw's network !.
Rating: 3 out of 5
A good story, but you never get close enough to McCaw
As Corr tells it, McCaw has always operated by a unique, hands off managerial style, often absent from key negotiations and busy flying his plane and paddling his kayak through British Columbia. For an author of a business biography, such a subject presents a real problem, because it makes it virtually impossible to paint a nuanced, subtle, in depth profile of the subject, and Corr's book suffers from this flaw. Michael Lewis had the same problem with Jim Clark in "The New New Thing," and I think there are few biographers of sufficient skill to really help us understand a mercurial figure like McCaw.That said, the book is still worthwhile, especially for the excellent early history of the cable and cellular phone industries. The explosive growth, relentless deal making, constant capital shortages, and sudden, inexplicable abandonment by the financial community might ring a chord with anyone who has lived through the last five years. Revolutions in the communications business seem to follow such a hype-hysteria-despair-rebuild path, and today's investors and entrepreneurs can learn a lot by studying the early history of these industries. For this purpose, Corr's book is a worthy addition to a business person's library.
Rating: 1 out of 5
Sleeper in Seattle
This book provides limited facts that are not already available in the newspaper. The writing style is monotone and does not compel the reader - definitely not something that will keep me up at night reading. Similar Products
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