I loved this huge, chewy novel. Reminded me a lot of John Steinbeck's sweeping view and intimate characterizations. The personalized history of each of the characters, which included revealing observations from the past of the S.F. Bay Area, California, and the nation in general, made their current conflicts and decisions so real, in fact, so obvious. You feel as if you fully understand what is moving the Silicon Valley and Wall Street. Not being a techie, some of the technical stuff was a bit hard to dig through. But I forced myself to do it and was glad because I ended up learning a lot. All together, the backdrop, the characters, the interwoven plots and story-line - it played out beautifully.
I especially enjoyed the Mexican character Maria. She is a simple and yet expansive and loving soul. I also liked the way all the different religions were portrayed on such a personal level, demonstrating that there was indeed little difference between them. It also made me sad that there are some people who really want nothing to do with God - those characters were also very real.
In a way, because this is in one sense a book primarily about people's beliefs and motives, I feel it is timeless. And this comes across even in the second-by-second, fast paced action, of a hyper-speed story. For as big and in-depth as it is, it's so grabbing and well told that it ends up being a fairly easy read. You definitely can't put it down.
(5 Stars) Babylon Stripped Naked Feb. 21, 2010, Kathryn McAuley, Seattle, WA, USA
Stunning!... Addictive!...Disturbing!...Even frightening!...This seminal masterpiece of fictionalized reality from a high level Silicon Valley insider places you squarely in the middle of the machinations of Wall Street and the tech world at its zenith. From light notes and shades of hopefulness to the fiery and super spicy, this is a ten-course meal guaranteed to leave you sated long after your last bite!
How could this happen? We're traveling the Information Super-Highway to "One Techno-World Without End"? Bright young minds - inventing dark things - leading to more dark things: organized terrorism, slaving, cyber and sexual warfare. What other geniuses at manipulation for greed's sake will shift the paradigm by which we all must live? Or die! What other players are about to shift it again?
Read Caldwell's A Terrace on the Tower of Babel, then plead for its sequel.
Others Are Saying . . .
The Household With Only One Copy:
"He won't let me touch it until he's done. I want to start, but he's even reading through the ball games; he never does that!"
Newsletter Publisher:
"I can't tell you how much I love this marvelous book; I don't want it to end . . . I can't put it down. The other day, it was 9:45 before I got a chance to read and I didn't get to bed until 3:00 a.m.!"
