The common perception of the Internet economy is that everyone working in it is rich, or about to be. True Tales of Working the Web, want to tell the other side of the story. In a nutshell, it's hemorrhoids and heartache. An easy read, this book is at times both hilarious and horrifying. Underneath the sheen of IPO money, the authors detail a system of stressed-out freelance employees who work for maniacal bosses and toil without medical benefits or stock options.
Employees often sit for hours, working in cramped offices for low pay.
Another chapter covers the rise and fall of a man who gets involved with selling cut-rate PCs. Savvy readers will catch the slightly veiled references to well-known outfits like Prodigy and Microsoft, but the book is accessible to newbies. Horror Stories of Working the Web site was launched in December 1998 and gets about 500,000 visitors a week. Content may not be republished without permission.