AOL.com

How Steve Case Beat Bill Gates, Nailed the Netheads, and Made Millions in the War for the Web

Kara Swisher

Recommended By

Book Reviews

Book Synopsis

"AOL.com" by Kara Swisher is a captivating and insightful exploration of the rise and fall of America Online, one of the most iconic Internet companies in history. Swisher, a seasoned technology journalist, provides readers with an inside look into the tumultuous ride that AOL experienced as it battled competitors, navigated the dot-com boom and bust, and ultimately struggled to stay relevant in the rapidly evolving digital landscape.

From the company's early beginnings as a pioneering dial-up service provider to its ambitious foray into content creation and acquisition, Swisher delivers a comprehensive analysis of the decisions, successes, and blunders that shaped AOL's journey. Drawing from extensive research and interviews, she uncovers the internal dynamics and strategic missteps that contributed to the company's decline.

Swisher's narrative is not just a corporate history; it also delves into the personal lives and ambitions of AOL's key players, including CEO Steve Case and other influential figures. Through these intricate portraits, readers gain a richer understanding of the individual motivations and management styles that influenced AOL's trajectory.

Moreover, "AOL.com" sheds light on AOL's impact on the broader digital landscape, exploring its role in shaping the Internet as we know it today. Swisher examines how AOL's massive user base and innovative marketing strategies left an indelible mark on online culture and connectivity.

Armed with her insightful reporting, Swisher offers valuable takeaways for entrepreneurs, investors, and technologists alike. "AOL.com" is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of the Internet and the lessons to be learned from one of its most influential and controversial companies.

Explore More Books

See All
Influence
Beating The Street
Success
She Said
Facing Love Addiction
What It Takes
Necessary Dreams
Bet The Farm
The Messy Middle
The Holy Grail of Investing
The Power of Myth
The Parasitic Mind
The Upanishads
Artificial Intelligence
Focus
Perfectly Reasonable Deviations from the Beaten Track
Peak
The Persian Expedition
The Fall
To Sell is Human
Expert Political Judgement
The Bottomless Well
The Mathematics of Politics
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
The Omnivore's Dilemma
One Simple Idea
How To Turn Down A Billion Dollars
At Home in the Universe
Energy Transitions
Growth IQ
Distant Force
Information
Intellectual Life in the Middle Ages
Spiritual Enlightenment, the Damnedest Thing
Modern Times
A Thousand Splendid Suns
The Way of Kings
The Grid
The Cost Disease
The Sun Also Rises
The Better Angels of our Nature
Built from Scratch
The Inevitable
Pandaemonium
Once a Warrior
Technofeudalism
Understanding Comics
The Search
The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing
The Long Tail
The History of the Future
Bad Therapy
Have Space Suit - Will Travel
Game of Thorns
Pebbles of Perception
The Cultural Cold War
Rebooting AI
The Tao of Charlie Munger
Patient Capital
Xi Jinping: The Governance of China
How To Avoid a Climate Disaster
The Beak of the Finch
The Art of  Scientific Investigation
The Company
The PayPal Wars
Elvis Cole Series
Human Compatible
Monsoon
So Good They Can't Ignore You
A Pattern Language
Change.edu
Breaking Out of Beginner's Spanish
Why Buy Bitcoin
Knowledge and Decisions
Eisenhower
1,000 Foods To Eat Before You Die
Heaven on Earth
The Ancient City
Good To Great
Tap Dancing to Work
Being With Dying
Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance?
Daemon
Don't Feed the Monkey Mind
The Sleepwalkers
Impro
Diocletian and the Roman Recovery
Cryptonomicon
The Count of Monte Cristo
Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge
Adaptive Markets
Mastering The Market Cycle
The Book of Life
No Filter
Inside the Rise of HBO
Discourses on Livy
The Lean Startup
Son of the Morning Star
The Purple Cow
Wild Swans