Following on from reading Rory Cellan-Jones' 'Dot Bomb' which focussed on the 'dot com' bubble in the UK, I've read Po Bronson's 'The Nudist on the Late Shift' which looks at a similar time from Silicon Valley.

Po Bronson has produced a very well-written and extremely readable insight into the craziness of 'dot com' fever in Silicon Valley. Clearly spending a great deal of time with both the entrepreneurs and employees involved 'The Nudist on the Late Shift' gets behind the ideas, the passion and the money.

The madness that meant people spent every waking hour in the office (some even sleeping under their desks) and meant that companies provided on-site laundry facilities for workers without the time to do their washing, is reflected well in the stories of the individuals involved.

The book tells of a time of optimism where the future can be changed by technology and wealth can be earned on the back of an unproven idea. Bronson concludes the book questioning if it's too late to join the party or not. Reading it now, with the benefit of hindsight and the knowledge of the crash that came, makes the book all the more entertaining. The reader is drawn into the individual stories and wants to warn the visionaries that it's all about to go wrong for them.

A recommended insight into a unique time in business history.