It's all here: the creation of the wildly successful DirectX software platform; the humiliating WinG fiasco; Alex St. John's outrageous publicity stunts to promote DirectX (including the crisis with the cancelled alien spacecraft, or when he convinced several game industry executives to streak through Seattle GameWorks); the obnoxious coders who began the OpenGL wars; and St. John's raucous but ultimately career-limiting final letter to Gates & Co.
Although the book reads at times like an Alex St. John biography, the book's mix of wild stunts, software eccentrics, and high technology is enough to keep any reader thoroughly entertained.
Perhaps the most astonishing and terrifying revelation of all is how long it took Microsoft to take the multi-billion-dollar computer game industry seriously, even after the conception of DirectX . . . a mistake the company surely won't make again.
Yes the book is a little disjointed in places, but if you are familiar with the industry you'll find a lot that rings true in here. If you've read "Microsoft Secrets" which details the order then read this book which details the chaos.
My only real criticism is that the book is told solely from the perspective of the renegades and doesn't go into as much depth as I'd like on the part of the poor managers who had to "herd these cats".
If for no other reason, buy this book for the some of the funny anecdotes. I found myself laughing out loud many times while reading this.
Bottom Line: Not a classic but still a darn good read.