Compelling ... About the challenges of corporate and family succession, an essential topic given that IBM itself was the father figure to most of the computing and tech industry.
Although the lead author is Watson’s grandson, the authors do not shy away from unflattering details about their subject’s personality and private life. But neither do they offer much insight into his character, or go beyond psychology and business-management clichés in describing the lessons he learned from his personal struggles ... Perhaps Watson fails to emerge as a full-fledged character because he did not have much of a character.
Briskly told ... As Watson Jr.’s grandson, McElvenny offers an insider’s assessment of familial dynamics, drawn from interviews and private papers. Most notable, the authors go further than most scholars have in portraying the son’s embrace of computers as a repudiation of his father.
The authors skillfully weave this profile of a recalcitrant heir together with a chronicle of computing in the 20th century. It’s an informative and entertaining study.
Comprehensive ... In a swift-moving narrative, the authors make clear that Watson was a man of parts, one of the prime shapers of the modern technological world. A readable and revealing work of business and tech history.
