Making the Cisco Connection: The Story Behind the Real Internet Superpower

by David Bunnell, Adam Brate

This book tells the fascinating story of how Cisco leveraged its position as a maker of Internet hardware to become a high-tech industry giant--the third largest in Silicon Valley.

Genres: Nonfiction

240 pages, Hardcover

First published February 18, 2000

Reviews

[GoldGato · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cisco Systems was one of the superpowers of the high-tech industry during the 1990s, and this book was published just a year before the dot com crash caused Cisco to perform its first layoffs. So, the reader will be getting the author's view of a superstar wall street performer, long before the company started struggling.

There isn't much depth here, although I did enjoy reading about the beginnings of the company and the internal power fights for control from the original founders. The basics of Cisco's success (at that time) are laid out for the reader, and certainly it can still be emulated today. It's rather fun to read books from this era, when everyone thought the whirlwind of cash would never stop. Well, it did.


Book Season = Year Round

[Alain van Hoof · Rating 4 out of 5]

Started out nice with the history of Cisco. End with a bit to much "dry" facts about the business succes of Cisco.

[Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

Better than all the comparable Cisco books from the same time frame; but too expensive in e-book to make it past the sample at this point.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book. (This review was written in July 2011, a few years after reading the book.)

[Streator Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of Cisco's rise to digital power in the new internet age.