Pride before the fall - John Heilemann

The Trials of Bill Gates and the End of the Microsoft EraBill Gates is the world's richest man and Microsoft is one of the world's most profitable business empires.Pride Before the Fall describes how the companies that Gates tried to bully or destroy (Netscape, Apple, Sun Microsystems, and even Intel) worked behind the scenes to help bring Gates and his company down.Based on extensive interviews with Gates, the then Assistant Attorney General, Joel Klein; Andy Grove, Chairman of Intel and other key players; Pride Before the Fall reveals the untold story behind the headlines.This book ventures deep into Gates' private world - from computer geek to one of the most powerful and unassailable men on the planet. In 1993, he said `I have as much power as the president'. Only five years later he burst into tears in a Microsoft board meeting - `the whole thing is crashing in on me, it's all crashing in'.Heilemann also examines the lasting damage that the trial has inflicted on the first great empire of the new economy, and the impact that Microsoft's appeal will have on the rules that govern compeition in America in the new millennium.In Pride Before the Fall, Heilemann confirms his reputation as one of Silicon Valley's most talented and respected journalists: years of inside access have given him a unique understanding of the forces at work in the technology industry. His political knowledge was garnered working as a reporter in Washington D.C. He is therefore uniquely placed to comment on the Microsoft Trial.