The Valley is especially fashionable in publishing circles, with at least four major nonfiction books hitting shelves the second half of this year. This issue, we excerpt one of them. I went to see Bronson one July night at Kepler's Bookstore in Menlo Park. With C-SPAN cameras running and more than a hundred people crammed into a corner of the store, Bronson explained his decision to write about the everyday entrepreneurs in the digital world. He talked about the kinds of stories that turn him on.
Some writers have a b.s. meter.
I have a goosebump meter. If I don't get goosebumps hearing your story, I throw my notes in the trash. One entrepreneur who affected Bronson's skin is Sabeer Bhatia, MS '93. Bronson himself has become, well, trendy. Skillful self-marketing has helped his rise.