Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet out of Idaho

Jesse and Eric were roommates in the tiny town of Caldwell, Idaho, nineteen-year-old working class kids eking out a living with their seven-dollar-an-hour jobs selling and fixing computers. College was never in the cards. Their families had been torn apart by divorce and hard times, separation and illness. They had almost no social lives, and little to look forward to. They spent every spare cent on their computers, and every spare moment on-line. Jesse and Eric were proud geeks-- suspicious or disdainful of authority figures, proud of their status as outsiders, fervent in their belief in the positive power of technology. They'd been outsiders as long as they could remember, living far from the mainstream of school or town life. Nobody spoke for them, they were on nobody's social or political agenda. Geeks is the story of how Jesse and Eric-- and others like them-- used technology to try and change their lives and alter their destiny. They rode the Internet out of Idaho to Chicago, a city they had ever set foot in, seeking the American Dream, a better life. Geeks describes this brave and difficult journey, as two self-described social misfits use the resources of the Internet to try to construct a new future for themselves, escape the boundaries of their dead-end lives, and find a community they could belong to. Geeks explores a growing subculture about which many of us know little, a world with its own language, traditions, and taboos. In telling the stories of Jesse, Eric, and others like them, Geeks is a story about the very human face of technology.

Review :
Praise for A Dog Year " A great book that dog lovers will definitely enjoy." - "Booklist" " The story line of Katz's latest book can be summed up very simply- two dogs die and two new ones join the family but its charm comes from an intricate blend of witty anecdote and touching reflection." - "Publishers Weekly" " A surfeit of tail-wagging, face-licking love." - "Kirkus Reviews" Praise for Running to the Mountain " A wonderful book -- personal, moving, funny... to call a book a perfect gift always seems slightly patronizing, but I already have a long list of names -- yes aging baby boomers -- I'm intending to give "Running to the Mountain."" - "USA Today " " A funny, moving, and triumphant voyage of the soul... Katz finds faith not by running away, but by realizing that spiritual sustenance comes from within -- from the decency with which we handle our roles as spouses, parents, and friends." - "Boston Globe " " You'll love this book... . In the end, we admire Katz, not for the spiritual grace that he seeks but for the grace he finds: the grace of fatherhood, husbandhood, of tending fully to those who depend on him to be a source of stability in their world." - "Men's Journal " " Candid and inspiring... Katz has much to be proud of: he faced himself, he rearranged himself, and he came back to write movingly of the experience." - "Washington Post Book World" Praise for Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho " In Geeks, Katzdisplays a deft reporter's touch and shows us the geek truth, rather than simply telling us about it... . Too often, writing about the on-line world lacks emotional punch, but Katz's obvious love for his ' lost boys' gives his narrative a rich taste." -"New York Times Book Review " " Geeks is a story of triumph, friendship, love, and above all, about being human and reaching for dreams in a hard-wired world." "-Seattle Times " " A touching page-turner about social outcasts using technology to wriggle free of dead-end lives." -"U.S. News & World Report " " An uplifting and hugely compassionate book." -"Philadelphia Inquirer" Praise for A Dog Year "A great book that dog lovers will definitely enjoy." -"Booklist "The story line of Katz's latest book can be summed up very simply-two dogs die and two new ones join the family but its charm comes from an intricate blend of witty anecdote and touching reflection." -"Publishers Weekly "A surfeit of tail-wagging, face-licking love." -"Kirkus Reviews Praise for Running to the Mountain "A wonderful book -- personal, moving, funny... to call a book a perfect gift always seems slightly patronizing, but I already have a long list of names -- yes aging baby boomers -- I'm intending to give "Running to the Mountain." -"USA Today "A funny, moving, and triumphant voyage of the soul... Katz finds faith not by running away, but by realizing that spiritual sustenance comes from within -- from the decency with which we handle our roles as spouses, parents, and friends." -"Boston Globe "You'll love this book.... In the end, we admire Katz, not for the spiritual grace that he seeks but for the grace he finds: the grace of fatherhood, husbandhood, of tending fully to those who depend on him to be a source of stability in their world." -"Men's Journal "Candid and inspiring... Katz has much to be proud of: he faced himself, he rearranged himself, and he came back to write movingly of the experience." -"Washington Post Book World Praise for Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho "In Geeks, Katz displays a deft reporter's touch and shows us the geek truth, rather than simply telling us about it.... Too often, writing about the on-line world lacks emotional punch, but Katz's obvious love for his'lost boys' gives his narrative a rich taste." -"New York Times Book Review "Geeks is a story of triumph, friendship, love, and above all, about being human and reaching for dreams in a hard-wired world." "-Seattle Times "A touching page-turner about social outcasts using technology to wriggle free of dead-end lives." -"U.S. News & World Report "An uplifting and hugely compassionate book." -"Philadelphia Inquirer