Mark

Barely funded, technologically inept, conceptually derivative, and driven by rivalries, the company that was to morph into the biggest internet site in the world had an unlikely beginning. This is the fascinating and surprising story that includes all the elements of a great business narrative: obsessive characters from cofounders Tom Anderson and Chris DeWolfe to Rupert Murdock, relentless and unlikely innovation, and dizzying backroom dealmaking; all centered around an epic battle for control.

Charles Dickens made the first of 3 trips to the United States in 1842, when he was 30 and already famous, having written several novels including The Pickwick Papers. This book begins dockside in London and recounts his escapades throughout his journey in a witty and conversational style, with his characteristic irreverence. This work will make Americans acknowledge the debt owed by Twain, Mencken, and others to Dickens, the foremost man of letters of his day.