The Leap
Authors: Tom Ashbrook
Venue:  (2000)

:In 1996, Tom Ashbrook was an international reporter who, in a crisis of the soul, resolved to join an old college classmate on the Internet rocket ride. THE LEAP tells the story of how he walked away from an enviable career to launch a risky new business venture, and it could serve as a template for anyone with e-commerce fantasies. As a deeply felt tale of a man who risks and rediscovers his family and purpose, it also has all the hallmarks of a classic. Ashbrook undertakes his white-knuckle journey in pursuit of the dream of an Internet startup without business experience, a technical background, or money. "I always knew you would do something crazy in the middle of your life," his wife, Danielle, tells him as their relationship careens through a dramatic rebirth of its own. "I just never knew it would be this kind of crazy." Ashbrook's odyssey is also the great American joy ride -- the story of two guys in the laboratory, in the garage, on the frontier, betting the ranch and then racing, half scared out of their wits, half giddy with adrenaline, toward the finish line. Success, when it finally comes, is sweet, but it is Ashbrook's story of self-transformation along the way that wins our hearts with its candor, its unabashed zeal, and the self-deprecating humor the author shares as he throws himself and his family over the edge in the middle of life to reach out for a new beginning. "Self-deprecating humor and gut-wrenching suspense ... By the end, you're praying for this guy to make it." (Time Magazine) "This is a great adventure tale ... a chronicle of the new economy written with the clarity, style and literary passion of a genuine professional.'' (USA Today) "Stirring...a sort of Huck Finn business tale...encapsulates its historic moment...a fine manic hymn to the spirit of enterprise." (Forbes Magazine) "A gripping account of an e-commerce start-up by a journalist-turned-entrepreneur." (The Boston Globe) "Inspiring ... breathtakingly lovely prose ... Readers will identify with him, love his story, and want to try it too." (Salon.com) "Poignant ... harrowing ... mystical ... on fire. By the end of the book, Ashbrook has a company he can view with great pride." (Fast Company) "Ashbrook comes across as the kind of guy you'd definitely want to invest your money in..." (Washington Post) "Riveting ... reads like a suspense yarn ... portrays the human side of Web mania." (Investor's Business Daily) "Guts and glory -- not on the high seas, but no less frightening." (Entrepreneur) "A wild, hellacious ride..." (CNNfn) "Fast-paced ... breathless ... makes the reader feel the excitement of creating something totally new." (Brill's Content) "A harrowing, exhilarating bungee jump ... giddy, sky-high heights ... oceanic depths." (St. Louis Dispatch) "A grabber ... a rollercoaster ride with few places to rest." (San Jose Mercury News) "Thrilling ... shatters our fantasies ... a true insider's view ... so authentic and readable." (Palo Alto Daily News) "Gonzo ... a valuable read." (Business 2.0) "...a breakneck introduction to how a startup company begins...an eye-opening peek...into the insanity of the Internet frenzy." (Denver Rocky Mountain News) "Thrilling ... fiery passion ... an exhilarating and inspirational story of the birth of an Internet entrepreneur." (Continental In-Flight Magazine) "Ashbrook cuts through the fog and makes the way-new American Dream palpable." (Josh Quittner, author of Speeding the Net and Masters of Deception) "The Leap is something genuinely new among books on the emerging tech economy ... makes vivid what risk really means ... This is an enjoyable and provocative work." James Fallows, author of Breaking the News) "Tom Ashbrook's story races along with the caffeine buzz of a double latte. ... [a] terrifying rollercoaster over the new Internet world."(Ellen Goodman, nationally syndicated columnist) "Throughout, the author's penetrating candor and self-deprecating humor whirl the reader through his family's ordeal....this is a wild ride of a story." (Library Journal) " Like many great works that appear on the surface to be about money and power (King Lear, say), The Leap is really a book about love -- about how money, whether too much or too little, always threatens love ... without doubt the most lyrical and emotionally honest work the dot com world has seen or will ever see." (Jonathan Wilson, novelist) "The Leap leaps. Anyone contemplating cashing in on the Great Cyberspace Gold Rush might do well to read this tale, both exhilarating and cautionary. Ashbrook proves once again that the journey is the reward." (John Perry Barlow, co-founder, Electronic Frontier Foundation) The ACM Portal is published by the Association for Computing Machinery. Copyright © 2010 ACM, Inc. Terms of Usage Privacy Policy Code of Ethics Contact Us Useful downloads: Adobe Acrobat QuickTime Windows Media Player Real Player