[tangentcity]

I have both Steve Blank's previous book, "Four Steps..." and Blank's and Bob Dorf's new one. (Got it on March 5th - the flyleaf says it was printed in March 2012 - you can still smell printing press oil on this one) Though I haven't read it through (and don't plan to - the first thing the authors say is don't read it straight through, and don't read too much at one sitting - this is more like a car repair manual, to be consulted as needed for specific problems), from reading bits and pieces I'd say it's not a rehash of FSTTE. It's better because (1) the layout is easier on the eye and mind; FSTTE's dense text, with modifiers dangling shamelessly all over the place, had a kind of geek charm, but it encouraged the reader to sit down and study it, cogitate over it, and ponder over it. The Startup Manual's design is biased towards action. The authors' car repair manual image rings true. (2) This book provides advice on "physical object"i.e. non web-based startups. With its bullet point summaries interspersed throughout the text and countless vignettes that bespeak years of experience, this reminds me of, and is as good as, Richard White's The Entrepreneur's Manual.