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Ask HN: Blank's new book?

4 pointsdavidw9 comments

Hi, anyone read Steve Blank's new book yet? I'm a bit reticent, as I generally buy Kindle books these days, but this sounds like the kind of thing that may be worth an exception. I'd be curious to hear what those of you who have already received it think.

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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.

It hasn't been released according to amazon. It gets releases this month: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0984999302/ref=oh_o00_s00_i...

I did pre-order it, even thought I only buy Kindle books now. I think it is worth, I have read the other two and I liked them, so I am assuming that this one will be worth it.

I've seen people's pictures - they're receiving them already.

I received mine Feb. 27th. I was pretty surprised that it came that quickly. I've read partially into the second chapter, seems like it is going to be good so far. They are making some bold claims in the book though.

Such as?

I'd just like to point out, if you pre-order via steveblank.com (using Amazon) you get charged full price, and pre-order via Amazon gets you a reduced price. I don't know if it will get updated when it ships.

I didn't notice this until I clicked aespinoza's link.

That is interesting. If you buy through amazon, I wouldn't worry too much because of the Pre-order Guarantee:

"Pre-order Price Guarantee! Order now and if the Amazon.com price decreases between your order time and the end of the day of the release date, you'll receive the lowest price."

According to Book Depository my copy was shipped yesterday. (Of course, it has yet to make its way to my doorstep in New Zealand.)

I have pre-ordered through Barnes & Noble. So far I haven not heard anything yet. I think it is going to be late for us. Really wanted the kindle format. But from Steve's blog I found out they are not releasing e-book in any near future. So I was forced to order paper edition.

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