can anyone speak of the value of getting a 6-7 year old technology-related book (aside from reminiscing about this and that)? Are readers of HN really the audience for this book (people who, at least in theory, are do-ers, go getters, etc)?
I'm asking not to be the villan of this post, but simply because I haven't read the book and am wondering whether it's worth the read. So, input is appreciated!
The content of the book came from his essays (posted on his website).
Whether it is worth or not, it depends on how you define worth.
I used to buy the hype cycle out of recommended books by "the internet" (reddit, HN, blogs, etc), for example: the tipping point, wisdom of the crowd, paradox of less, this book, get things done, etc.
But then I figured out that I want to (and should) do my own thing, not to follow someone else's lead.
I sold mine last month and am now trying to get rid the other books as well.
Keep in mind that while it is 6 years old, most of the content are "concepts" of various topics from startups, competition, hackers/recruiting, etc.
I also (same book lineup as you and 4 hour week, Godin stuff, those other bad books from Gladwell, yes all of them, I still like Black Swan) came to the conclusion those hype cycle blogosphere books are not for me and only distract.
They do indeed. Funny though, I was cleaning up my bookshelves 2 days ago and I stumbled upon old books "Software Engineering in UNIX/C Environment" (1991)[Honest: I copied the book from my university library before I graduated a few years ago] and "The Greatest Secret in the World" (1997).
I browsed found interesting information. For example: SE in UNIX/C Env book mentioned Unit, System, Integration, and Acceptance Testing. Just like those Agilist/Scrum books are doing these days.
Og Mandino book is sort of self-help book that seems a combination of a few recent self-help books.
They're both thin and easy to read. I suppose I would believe reviews about old books than newer books from now on.
This book is not about technologies that tend to fade away fast, and it would becoming irrelevant in a few years. It is mostly about the idea of hacking, connections of this let's call it state of mind to other activities. This book has a number of what is known as PG essays. One of the almost timeless of those about the language for the next hundred years is there.
[EDIT: reading that book brought me here. Never regretted that]
Most of the content is timeless I believe, mostly philosophical ideas. A lot of it is the same as what can be found in Paul Graham's essays on his website but I think the book is a good read nonetheless. I've read it about 2 times by now (when I found it around 05-06, and just this year) and would recommend it.
Just finished this book a few weeks ago. It was very interesting, especially the chapter on wealth, where he introduces that wealth does not equal money, but rather wealth equals something that people want.
So you save a whole dollar and 51 cents. Big deal. I'd just as soon order it from Amazon, who in general has much better prices than direct from O'Reilly.
[1]: https://twitter.com/#!/oreillymedia/status/21836062456283136